Building Houses in Haiti

    After Jamaica, I set myself up with a very unique opportunity to head out on a two-week trip to Haiti and help build houses for the people living there through a program called Global Builders. Quite frankly, it was pretty amazing that I was able to have such a great experience in the middle of my trip. I had an overall great time working with the program building houses and rejuvenating my soul.

A picture of two smiling Haitian children I met

    A typical day had me waking up around 6 to eat breakfast at 7 AM. Work started at 8:00 and lasted until lunch, which we ate on site between 12 and 1 o'clock. After lunch, we got right back to work up until 4:00 PM. Dinner was then served around 6 once we got back from the worksite. We had pretty nice weather for most of the days I was there so there weren't too many issues with the rain preventing us from working. The cost of the trip covered all the food, lodging, and transportation expenses for me so I didn't have to worry about it.

    As for the actual work I was doing, it certainly wasn't a cakewalk. Some examples of tasks I had to do while there included laying blocks, clearing rubble, applying stucco, cutting rebar, mixing concrete, and more. The work wasn't easy by any means, but after being on vacation for months, it felt pretty good to be productive in some way. The one thing I will say is that the heat was pretty ridiculous. I had to constantly drink water to stay hydrated and protect myself from the heat.

A big, beautiful waterfall at Bassin Zim

    We had work on all days except Sundays, which were our time to rest, relax, and go sightseeing through opportunities set up by the organization. The first Sunday I was there, we visited a local school to spend time with the children. It was so heartwarming to see all their little smiles when we played games and sports with them. The other Sunday I was there, the group visited Bassin Zim, a beautiful treasure of nature filled with waterfalls, coves, and caves. The views were absolutely breathtaking. The experience of building houses in Haiti as a whole was one of the best things I've done in my life so far.