Gratitude

Hello everyone!

It's been awhile since I last updated the blog and thought it was time to let you know that we are keeping ourselves busy and doing something very exciting.

While down under, we discussed our good fortune in being so incredibly blessed with good health and good fortune and that it is time we begin to give something back to society.

A couple of weeks ago we attended an orientation at the offices of Habitat for Humanity at Yonge and Eglinton. It was an eye-opener for many reasons. When we entered the boardroom we were surprised to see that we (white and middle-aged) were in the minority. Of the 30 people who attended, all but 5 were ethnic, female and very young; most were first generation Canadian.

We were given a presentation on the history of Habitat as well as the terms and conditions once someone qualifies for a house. Those who are fortunate enough to qualify must be able to pay an interest free mortgage, cannot sell the house for several years and must spend 500 hours on the build. They are provided with the house and all new appliances. All materials and time spent are donated. There are only 25 full time staff at the Habitat offices and they are salaried administrators of the program.

Every person who works on the houses is a volunteer. Professionals donate their time to teach the volunteers how to build the homes, however they are not there the entire time. There is a site boss and regular crew who install and oversee the operations. Most of these people are either retirees like us or have taken time off to perform this service. Of those we have met so far, one young couple and a city hall lawyer have taken a year off, all without pay, to work for Habitat. The rest of the volunteers are students and employees of companies.

We had a choice of build sites; Etobicoke or Scarborough. We checked out the locations and decided that Scarborough was preferable because we could take the subway and bus to the site.

Habitat asked us if we could come last week and it was perfect. I spent two days there and Bob three. The build is actually ten townhouses with from three to five bedrooms.

Looks pretty good doesn't it, considering it's built entirely by volunteers?

Our first day was a treat! We had been told to take our lunches and that cookies, coffee and water would be provided. However, if we were really fortunate, it would be a "sponsor" day where a company sends out up to 30 employees for the day. Tuesday happened to be Enbridge day and they had their caterer come and conjur up a huge bbq for everyone.

Following a very strict safety briefing and assignment to crew leaders, we climbed the front steps of a townhouse (5 million times a day) in our very heavy steel-toed/shanked boots. Our task was to mud the firewalls between the houses. This mudding provides a 40 minute window of escape should there ever be a fire in the complex. Simple work that required a lot of climbing on ladders. By the end of the day our legs were boneless and it was all we could do to climb on the bus to return home. The rest of the body however was invigorated beyond belief. What an awesome feeling! There we were, about 50 people, all with a common goal. So much laughter, teasing and learning about each other.

Bob spent Wednesday cleaning up the site. He said it was very rewarding because it was so physical. It was also 28C so that added to the rewards of a few lbs lost and muscle built.

We both returned to the site on Thursday, which was intended to be a Rogers Communications day. Habitat cancelled the Rogers crew because they wanted only regulars that day(Bob and I are now regulars), to attend a window installation session with a professional who volunteered a few hours to teach us how to install correctly. There were 25 of us and it was a hoot! I became the "black shit lady"....the person with the gun who ices the window frames with black goop prior to the sills being installed (they insist on correct terminology!). I learned quickly that if I applied too much, it would squish out and cover anyone who happened to lean against the sill (I managed to nail 3 guys before I got caught! yahoo!!!). This stuff doesn't come off and never sets so you can only imagine the mess. I grovelled to the victims with a gallon of varsol to make amends. They were all good natured and didn't fire me so I guess I'm still welcome. Bob was installing the sills ahead of the installation crew.

Self-portrait of the "black-shit lady"

We hadn't taken lunch that day because we knew that it was to be a sponsor day so now they were cancelled we discovered a West Indian take-out in a little plaza right behind the project. The lunch was fantastic with rice and beans and jerk chicken....just the way we remembered it from Jamaica. Yum!

"Bob the Builder" playing with dangerous tools

At lunch, we learned more about our co-workers. Lorraine is the lawyer mentioned earlier, who has taken a year off from city hall; Jerry was a psychologist at Toronto East hospital; Mike just completed business at York and along with several of his classmates has (for the past two years) and is, devoting three days per week at Habitat and working the other four days at a another job. Who says that young people are not motivated to help society?? Bruce was in senior management at Bell and spent a year crewing a sailboat in the Mediterranean for people who wished to hire him. He has been with Habitat for three years. Many, many awesome people who help make this thing work.

Bob and Jerry watching Mike work (you can do that when you volunteer!)


Nice bum, where ya from? Bruce, Bob and Tom....how many carpenters does it take.......?

Bob is on his third day this week however I had other commitments (still filling in at Wellspring) and hope to be back there next week. The plan is completion in August however there is so much to do before then.

We are seeking an international build to add on to our China trip in the fall. It may not work out however we know that at some point we will get to experience this as well.

One of my friends worked on two houses in Guyana in March. She said the heat was intense, as were the mosquitoes however at the end of it all it was one of the most challenging and satisfying things she has ever done.

That's it for now folks!

We trust you are all happy and healthy.

Until next time......blessings.

Sharon