Final thoughts

I have had to have a break from posting to allow myself to draw conclusions from this incredible two week experience. I want to thank you for sharing this journey with you, it has felt at times as if you have been here with me dear reader.

Perhaps next year you will...

So what conclusions have I drawn?

Firstly: I can't change the world. I can't even change DR. Even Jesus said 'the poor will always be with you' but that doesn't mean we can do nothing. DR is now a country firmly placed in my heart. Its a country of great natural beauty but one of such marked contrast. Heat/Rain, Poverty/Wealth, green pastures/desert, Dominican/Haitian, Life/death, Heaven/Hell.

The school in Algadones WILL happen. We will raise those funds. Already through this blog I have had contact with a very dear friend from Pompey who has offered invaluable service to the cause. This WILL make a difference to the young in that village and give them a chance to get off the bottom rung. Otherwise, in the same way that they were born in the mud, so they will die in the mud too. This is a change we CAN make!

If you want to contribute to this cause, give me a call (07768367195)

Secondly: Building houses is not what this trip is about. Its about building relationships. When you pick up a child and give him attention, it may be the only bit of individual attention he gets all day. Yes, dignity comes from having shelter, food, clothes, but we can have our dignity taken from us even when we have these things. I believe we all crave validation, validation that we are a person of worth, and this is a desire that goes to the heart of our very soul. This we can give to these downtrodden people by visiting them in hospital and holding their hand, laughing with them at the dump without holding our noses, cuddling a child even though he smells of excrement because water and nappies are in short supply or genuinely being honoured when invited into a Haitians' leaking, rodent infested shack that he and his family call home.

I like looking at Haitian peoples teeth. Why? Because if I can see them it means they're probably laughing.

Finally: Yet again I have received more than I have given. These trips teach you more about yourself than about other people. Your baggage comes with you. Your fears, your temper, your hopes and your regrets, and this will come out. But its a time of reflection too, if you have a faith, it is strengthened, if you don't, you may just start to get one. It forces you to ask those big 'life questions', and you never know, you may find the answer can be found in a man who walked this earth 2000 years ago.

Whatever, if I have come back the same person that left, the trip will have been a failure. To those of you that know me, I'll leave you to decide...