Build a Home - Work Alongside Local Contractors

Name: Mexico House Build 2016
Item: Build a Home - Work Alongside Local Contractors
Rating: 10
Author: Jessica Peterson

Visit Site

Get Started

Video and Photos

As a woman in construction, I catch a lot of flack here in Canada, but in the Dominican? These guys were more than excited to work beside me 💝

day 1: we visited one of the communities that LD works in, this little girl was immediately attached to me and took us on our own little adventure. She was beautifully fascinated with how similar we were to touch (skin, eyes, hands etc) even when we looked so different.

View All Photos

About

While in the Dominican Republic, your team will have the opportunity to help construct a brand new home for a family! For them, something as simple as rain can mean incredible damage to their shelter and a threat to their health, and the only security for their family may take the form of a tiny, rusted lock on a flimsy tin door. They are exposed to living conditions that are unacceptable and you will help to change that! You will see your life in an entirely new perspective and on the day you hand the keys to the family you have worked with, you will understand dignity, security, and peace of mind in a whole new way.

During your time with our team, we will also make sure you have plenty of opportunities to connect with people in the local village and make many new friends. We will set aside part of a day to connect with a local family through our “Day in the Life” experience, and you will also get to explore the beauty that is so prevalent in the Caribbean.

Highlights

Build a Home
Work Alongside Local Contractors and Community Members

Related Programs

Questions & Answers

Reviews

100%

based on 2 reviews

Leave a Review

Volunteer

Impact 10
Support 10
Fun 10
Value 9
Safety 10

Showing 1 - 2 of 2

I participated in a house build with McBride Secondary School back in March of 2016. The experience in itself was amazing! Everything from meeting locals, to eating local cuisine, to playing jump rope with the young children was incredible. It truly made you think about how different your life is compared to place in poverty. An incredible moment of the trip was being able to bond with those who travelled with you. Coming home, I talked and socialized with people who I was never close with with. I highly recommend the program to any one. A few tips are to start fundraising early. Although the cost is for an amazing cause, it adds up quickly! For future participants, I just want to highlight that if you go with an open mind and heart, you’re definitely going to leave a little bit of yourself there. I see pictures all over the place of house builds and it takes me back to a time that I will never forget. A place of discovery, happiness and love!

How can this program be improved?

A more detailed itinerary would be lovely! Just more so what buses you’ll be travelling in. Maybe a picture of where you’ll be staying. Little things to make those travelling a little more comfortable and prepared!

It's been two years since I was in the DR, but it feels like yesterday. When I went, I was fresh out of college and high on myself, figuring I'd take this volunteer vacation and gain some good karma...little did I know how much those 10 days would change me.
My entire perspective on life has changed and it started on that first night when Cole said "being one person, maybe I cant change the whole world, but by deciding to dedicate my time, and my energy, I WAS going to change the world, for a whole family".
It's hard to come back to Canada and all it's luxeries and complain about minor inconveniences when you've got the image of the world's happiest kids in the back of your mind, and knowing that those same kids have next to nothing to go 'home' to.

The staff at Live Differnt are incredible and really relay a sense of family when you work with them. I've been lucky enough to work with some of them since my build when I joined the LD road team last year - another positively life changing, eye opening, heart warming, inspiring journey.

When you work/volunteer with Live Different, you leave heart happy.

About Live Different

Live Different is a Canadian charity that exists to engage and empower youth toward a lifestyle of compassion and service. Through our high school motivational presentations in Canada and our humanitarian volunteer opportunities in The Dominican...

Learn more