The Angry Humanitarian

Oh the Angry Humanitarian.

No one really intends to become one. You try to stay friendly, educational, and open but eventually get to the point where you get angry at the decisions and ignorance of the people around you.  Why can’t they understand? Why don’t they change the way they act? Why don’t they care about the rest of the world?

The Building Dreams group on the last day of their trip!

While spending time with youth empowerment humanitarian organization Live Different in the Dominican Republic we warn volunteers about becoming the Angry Humanitarian. It’s possibly the most common reaction to your surroundings when you head home after a completely life changing experience. Our volunteers just spent 10 days in an impoverished different country, not only building a house for a deserving family, but also really gaining perspective on how a majority of the world lives. They put stories to statistics and faces to nameless individuals whose lives are exposed in articles on living conditions and struggles existing thousands of miles across the globe.

How can your life not be changed after this kind of experience?

On the last day of their trip our volunteers take part in one final debriefing session. We have volunteers who have been on trips before mention feelings they experienced when arriving home—most being anger, guilt and frustration. This summer, our final debrief leader was a fun kiwi named Kent and he always gave such a great description of the Angry Humanitarian to the volunteers. Loosely quoted, it went something like this;

“The Angry Humanitarian is someone who is having dinner with their family and gets mad because people are throwing out leftover food into the garbage and are saying ‘that food could feed 10 starving children in Africa’, but really, it couldn’t because that food is on your table in Canada and not in Africa.”

We warn our volunteers that while this reaction is easy to have, it’s not the most productive way to encourage your friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances to live a life where focusing on positively impacting those around you is a priority. As individuals who now have the mantra “Life is about people, not stuff”, they need to take time to respond instead of react to the circumstances around them.

I encourage everyone who has had a life changing experience to evaluate how they react or respond to those around them. Are you keeping a lighthearted tone and creating an educational conversation where you are inspiring those around you to join you in a new lifestyle of positive change? Or on the contrary, are you abruptly spitting out comments to make those you are talking to feel bad about their lives? They don’t know what you know; they don’t have the same experience ingrained in their hearts that completely changed their lives. You cannot get mad at someone who doesn’t know—but you can take every opportunity to educate.

Be the individual who educates well, shares passionately, and lives inspirationally. Let your actions show you want to see poverty, slavery, gendercide, denied education and other forms of injustice end. Be a great model so when people hear about your experience and reasons why your life is changed, they don’t want ignore the reality of how the world is functioning, but want to join you in your new adventure.

Image from Pinterest.

Security

Security.

As per usual, the above word can draw many pictures in the minds of those it is spoken to. We think of everything from the security guard we see every day in the mall we frequent, to our friends and family who spend their lives working towards the pot of gold they call security for their loved ones because of the all too common belief, no matter what might happen, the money stored up can provide the sense of safety they need.

Considering I am currently in a place where no malls exist, and my unemployment leads me to have no incoming pennies to store into my ‘pot of gold’ for the unexpected, we can agree that my idea of security is coming from another image.

Opening the door to his new home with many happy volunteers
and excited members of the community watching this amazing
moment! Check out Live Different on Facebook for more
pictures from their Hero Holidays.

While in the Dominican Republic we; being my wonderful husband, a handful of amazing world changers and myself, are leading teams of youth to grow their perspective of the world and participate in a life changing ten days where they get to contribute to building a home for a deserving family. The entire experience leads up the always-emotional moment of handing over the keys of the home to the family. All the sweat, tears, awkward moments since you don’t speak the same language, relationship-building, and heart changing moments find their climax when the family stands in front of their home on dedication day and, with the keys passed on from a Live Different volunteer to the family, they unlock the door of their new home for the very first time. Thinking about this moment gives me shivers and makes me smile so big due to the sheer amount of 'epic' involved in this exact moment. For most of these families this door is the first door they have ever had that can be locked.

Can you imagine never having a door that can lock on your home? Picture living in a less than ideal neighbourhood; the power goes out at night, you live in a home with a door that shuts but does not lock. There is no lock on the door, the windows—anything can happen. Praying for protection is your security.

Our second house build site this summer for my husband and I gave this security to a man who works as a security guard at the most high end resort in the Dominican Republic. How perplexing to think of a security guard who raised four sons on his own and didn’t have this one basic means of security for his family-- until this exact moment.

To get to our third build site we would walk past the home of the security guard and the three sons that currently live with him. I have two favourite scenes to lay eyes on as I pass by: While they are home the door is left open (as is common in Neuvo Renacer) and I often see the father in the kitchen, cooking away. He looks so pleased—happiness bursting inside but escaping to the outside world in the form of a content gentlemen working away. The next scene is that of the door closed and locked. No one is home, it’s quiet inside, and standing guard is a white door—locked and providing the security we often take for granted.

The happy family before opening the door to their new home!

Where You Least Expect It

When was the last time something was in the first place you looked? Often it's in the last place we expect... and it's probably time for a change.

My wonderful husband and I are spending two months in the Dominican Republic with the humanitarian and youth empowerment non-profit Live Different (www.LiveDifferent.com) as leaders on Hero Holiday trips. These trips are often the first time youth will engage with the global community-- realizing how fortunate they are, what conditions the majority of the world lives in, and takes them through an intense roller coaster of emotion, leaving them as individuals who head home to be beacon of change and passionate about sharing their experience with those around them.

While most individuals argue about whether sending only money is more beneficial to aiding a community across the globe, the youth taking part in these amazing trips will tell you nothing compares to being in the community, working along side people possibly more loving then even your best friends at home, and now having a face come to mind when someone speaks the word 'poverty'.

The community we work in is called Neuvo Renacer (meaning New Rebirth). The name of the community could not be more perfect. Originally named Agua Negras (Black Water) due to the garbage and pollution that runs through the streets, Neuvo Renacer is a new title granted to the deserving community after leaders there, seeing the change groups like Live Different are making, worked to have it changed.

When I think of the word 'community' in a more North American setting it reminds me of weekend bonfires, meals shared with a few close friends when the timing works for everyone in their regularly busy schedules, and gatherings-- especially for holidays or other events we deem 'special'.

While there is nothing technically wrong with that, I fear we have lost the beauty of what community really looks like.

An adorable and loving Haitian girl and I in Neuvo Renacer.

In Neuvo Renacer the word community takes on the most amazing form of life, love and inspiration. Do you know your neighbours? Do you know the people that live near you so well that you would let your children wander off at any point in the day because you know they will be looked after? Have you ever had to rely on those living in the houses beside you for food and water?  The answers to inquiries like these is generally a no from myself and would be a no from most people I know. Here in Neuvo Renacer this is a daily occurrence.

The people who have, by our standards, nothing are the individuals who so freely give everything they do have to help others. They have more faith then almost anyone else I know and give more love to all they encounter more than some individuals ever experience on even their best days. It's the place you would least expect to see unshakable faith, unwavering love, and unfailing hope that things can get better.

"Day In The Life" from the first Hero Holiday Public Trip.

Just today, while supervising and ensuring our volunteers were making the most of their "Day in the Life" experience, I was met again with amazing faith. The father of the family said to us, "It is an answered prayer to have you here." One of the volunteers responded with, "We are blessed to be here."





How often do we genuinely feel 'blessed to be here'? Here in this life, here in this moment? Not only should we be living our lives greatly inspired to be a positive force of change with abundant love to freely give, we should no longer allow ourselves to be surprised by how faith, hope and love are where we least expect-- but aspire to live a life where all we can do is show these actions to everyone we encounter as a reflection of how blessed we truly are.

To learn more about Live Different and Hero Holidays check out the Live Different website at www.LiveDifferent.com 

Also check out their Facebook to see more images of the work being done in the Dominican Republic! www.Facebook.com/pages/Live-Different/

I like Cats and Ending Slavery.

When you meet someone have you ever wondered why one of the first questions is often, “What do you do?”. Most of us answer with our occupation. My question is, why do we let our jobs define us? I have learned that your job does not define who you are. Your actions, your beliefs, your experiences – those things define who you are. I work in radio and in retail. If you ask me what I do, I'll answer with “I help change the world. I'm a humanitarian.”

When writing to friends and family to gather financial support for our second Hero Holiday to Dominican Republic in July of 2011, that blurb above was my opening paragraph. I thought it was pretty darn good. I was defying social norms and sharing a valuable lesson; your work does not define who you are. When I look back now, I realize I was also doing something else-- telling people who I am. For people I may not have kept in touch with after my move to Winkler, or for those who thought they knew who I was, I was re-defining their image of me in their mind. Regardless of what people knew, I was redefining myself as a humanitarian.

Defining who you are to people is an interesting thing-- from first impressions based solely on your looks to only having a brief conversation, or to generalized assumptions taken to the extreme because of one fact people learn, it's definitely something that has been of great interest to me lately.

One thing I have learned over time is that while you can choose what you put out there of yourself to show to the world, the world will attach itself to various things. These things might be exactly what you'd like them to be, and then again, they might attach themselves to things you don't necessarily agree with or place as much value on.

An example of the above, and in my opinion a perfect example, is my total of five months with Not For Sale. While there you live with people, start to work with them, and get to know them immediately. My time was spent focused on the professional, work aspect of the Fellowship. Keep in mind,  you are not only working with an entire staff and fellow fellows but also living with and literally 'doing life' with the other fellows. In these situations, and to a certain level, people can cling onto little facts that will show they know you (they listen to you, they are making an effort to become friends, etc). You may share a random fact or two and those facts become who you are...

For me in this situation the fact was that I like cats.
I have a cat at my parents house.
Her name is socks.
I think cats are cute, cuddly, and adorable.
You look at my Facebook wall from my time with NFS and...
IT'S ALL CATS.
CATS.
CATS.
CATS.

An example of a post on my Facebook wall.

And while that's not a bad thing, it is certainly something that I reacted to in a few various ways: I thought it was funny at times, some what annoying and even heartwarming.

How did these people pick this one random fact to be their main point of "knowing me"?

While living with these fine fellows there were other things that stood out to them; my love of baking, my inner grandma, the fact that I love Jesus. But the cat thing was unlike any other.

To this day I still receive pictures and other hilarious articles to do with Cats posted on my Facebook wall. I absolutely love it now. It is more heartwarming than ever, never annoying, and always funny. It's nice to know that while cats were the random point of connection then, to this day the picture of a too adorable cat reminds them of our time together, working to end slavery.

My life with cats and cupcakes with NFS.

What is it about you that others tend to cling to when they think of "knowing you?" What do you think of the connection between you and that one "random fact?" 

Work reminds me of the Dominican Republic

Upon arriving home from my time with Not For Sale I had to find a job.
Hello, stating the obvious.
After being unemployed for five months, and with big adventures coming our way, the decision to "apply everywhere" wasn't a hard one to make. The same day I emailed a resume and cover letter I had an email back from a chain restaurant in my local area. One interview, and one shadow shift later, I was employed-- within a week of returning home.

I started as a hostess and am now a waitress. I had worked in the kitchen of a restaurant before but this whole "front of house" stuff was brand new to me. I like chatting with people, I can joke around, I smile quite frequently. It seemed like it was going to be a natural fit.

As a server, and as I'm sure you know, we take your plates once you are done with them. We dump your leftover food into a garbage can and put the dishes into the "dish pit" to be cleaned. Who knew this simple, 2 minute or less task would have me constantly thinking about my time spent in the Dominican Republic...

Putting food into the garbage. The amount of food. The food that you don't eat. The portion that was too big for your stomach to handle. The food that you are paying money for and throwing away. This is heartbreaking. This simple act of throwing food away constantly leaves my own stomach turning...

When on a Hero Holiday with Live Different in the Dominican Republic, a portion of one day is set aside to go to the Garbage Dump. Yes. That's right. The Garbage Dump. That mystical place that we put a side thought towards every week because our garbage is taken away by the big trucks and they leave the now empty cans at the end of our driveway. We know it exists, yet we rarely ever think about it. In the Dominican Republic, people live at the garbage dump. Mostly stateless individuals and families who are considered by government to be neither Haitian or Dominican. Those that live at the garbage dump spend time opening up the trash that is sent there and doing a few different things:
1) Compiling the food that people throw away into containers to eat later
2) Looking for items they can use that people carelessly tossed away
3) Finding recyclables they can bag to redeem for money.

None of those things sound appealing. Not one. We can all agree on that. If life were a movie this is how a scene would play out: I would collect dishes from a table with the food you are "too full" to eat and walk up to the trash bin. The camera shot would now be from inside the trash bin and as I dumped the food in the screen would go black, showing just how much food I casually tossed in to pile up. Next, from the black screen, it would open to a blue sky overhead, and a small Haitian child would be looking in. He would dig something out and the screen would open up to show where he is. This child is in a garbage dump, taking that food-- that half a hamburger, the extra chicken finger or two, baked potato, french fries, and would be transferring it into a bag that he is going to keep for later. Dinner is served.

While on a Hero Holiday we work alongside those who live at the garbage dump (It really is taking the concept of "working from home" to a whole new perspective). We lend our hands to them to help them  sort through the incoming trash and find the recyclable materials they can use to make at least a little bit of money. It's hot, it's smelly, it's unthinkable unless you have been there for the experience. The day we went we had the opportunity to hand out care packages of food to those that call the dump home. It was a life changing experience unlike anything you can think of-- Just look at me. I work a "normal" North American job and I can't spend a day at work without thinking of the woman I helped one morning almost two years ago.

How much has a humanitarian or missions trip changed your day to day life? Are there tasks you complete that during the day that remind you of where you have been and the work you did? Comment below.

At the garbage dump.

Talking about tattoos at the garbage dump.

To learn more about Live Different and their Hero Holidays visit their website, LiveDifferent.com and experience how you really can change the world and be changed by living different.