Hola mis amigos!
It’s another perfect 75 degrees and sunny day in Antigua
(sorry Minnesota). Team 2 has spent the last couple of days working hard on
constructing a home in San Juan Del Obispo for a family of seven. The family’s
monthly income is $195. They squat on their land, which is 10 x 10 meters and
their current home is a block house with a ceramic brick floor. They purchase
water and electricity from the land owner and have a flush type toilet and a
gas stove for cooking. Their home is furnished with two beds, five stools, two
tables and two dressers for the seven of them.
Before the family was granted a new house, they were
required to work 100 hours helping on the grounds of Common Hope. Then that’s
where our job came in. We started off the day yesterday on site at the new
house by mixing concrete for the floor. After a little muscle work, a lot of
sunscreen, and rationing our water because there were no available restrooms,
we had ourselves a finished concrete floor! Step one done, BOOM!
Today’s construction work was just as satisfying as
smoothing out a concrete floor. I understand now why they are called power
tools, because after using a terrifying large drill I feel pretty empowered.
This morning we constructed multiple panels that will make up the walls and
doors of the new home. This afternoon we will deliver the panels to the house
site and begin to see the home really come together.
It's an exciting process to work amongst some of the most
fun, caring people of Allina Health and come together to create a new home for
a family in need. I’m looking forward to some more hands on, gritty work and
continuing to move the vision of Common Hope forward.
Day 3 for Team 2 for some also consisted of spending time in
the daycare and library at Common Hope. The daycare experience involved
spending time and playing with children of staff members of Common Hope. The
daycare staff welcomed us with socks so we could get right down on the floor to
play with 2-3 year olds. Even though there was a language barrier, it was clear
the staff resolved a conflict between two toddler girls, over a doll, calmly
yet with authority. One of the Allina Health team members responded quickly
when a five-month old baby awoke crying. The soothing calmed the baby almost
instantly. One of the highlights of the daycare experience was when a toddler
finally decided to play catch. Again it
was apparent speaking the same language was not necessary to interact. The
library involvement involved getting the library ready for the school year, so
our craft skills were put to use decorating walls and ceiling. The library was
transformed into a welcoming environment for Common Hope families. 
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