Hi All, Noah here! I wanted to write a little recap of the trip and share with you the impacts of our efforts.
Through generous donations and a grant that Gabe Phillips was able to secure we were able to purchase the material and provide tools needed to build two homes. The first home was for Claudia Santana and her family and the second was for an older woman named Aurora. Her husband has been the hospital since the fire due to an infection in his blood from stepping on a nail while sorting through the rubble on their property. Its been compounded by diabetes and has been a very difficult time.
For the 16 day trip we had a goal of installing both home kits, the roof and installing doors and windows. We accomplished that goal! We also achieved a couple bonus goals, both homes had electrical roughed in and had a couple lights turned on. Early in the trip the home kits where delayed a few days so we took two days and completed a re-roof on a church that was about to go into another winter with a leaking roof. Not anymore!
In case you didn’t know, I love construction, a lot! Shooting a nail gun is seriously one of my favorite things to do of all time. However, the most impactful moments weren’t nailing down a sheets of ply wood, installing roofing or doors and windows. The most impactful moments were the car rides, the beers and food after work, the short broken-english/spanish conversations and the working alongside one another that left a deep sense of belonging to something greater than yourself.
There are two memories that will stick with me.
#1. At the end of my time working on Señora Aurora’s home she gifted me her Chilean flag. It was the only thing to make it through the fire and was the only thing on the property when we arrived to start the footings. I didn’t understand the spanish words coming out of her mouth and she didn’t understand the english words coming out of mine, but in that moment we understood each other perfectly. We hugged and cried.
#2. My body is thanking me that the majority of my time was spent at Aurora’s house and not Claudia’s. Claudia’s house location is high on a steep hillside that’s only accessed via 58 stairs! Gabe and the crew that hauled the material up those stairs and built that home are some absolute studs. My only task on this home was to install the doors and windows. While I was installing windows I heard Claudia’s son softly reading and looked over to see him doing his homework in a blanket on the floor. Claudia was away at work and it was just me doing my work and him doing his. I don’t really have words for why it was so special, it just was. Best afternoon ever.
While my trip is over Gabe and the and the local volunteers continue the work and are finishing both these homes! They are working on insulation, inside paneling, finishing electrical and plumbing. Also, they have two more homes ordered to be able to provide to more families in need. The tools and cash donations received to date have been monumentous in the accomplishments to date.
Please consider making an additional donation or donating for the first time! The tool kit is very well built out with the exception of needing another Battery Dewalt Framing Nailer and a Battery Dewalt 18 ga. Nailer. Additional donations will also go a long way in covering building materials that don’t come with the home kits (doors, windows, plumbing and electrical) Volunteer’s fuel and lodging to get out to the home sites is another need. Most people are traveling 2-3 hours to come out and work.
