Building Goodwill

Summary: For the mission trip to the Dominican Republic I built houses and helped with the carnival, while interacting with and learning more about the local community and culture there. Additionally, in the summer of 2008 in my leadership role I handled such tasks as gathering travel information, recruiting people to go on the trip, making and enforcing a payment schedule, planning the children's carnival, organizing meetings, handling much of the paperwork involved, preparing the group, coordinating the group efforts, and more. The group participants were spread out through Ohio, so this leadership role was truly challenging for me, but I had guidance for some wonderful people and the help and willingness of the group. We worked together in such a way that I know we changed each other's lives as well as the lives of those we helped in the Dominican. While in Luperon, Dominican Republic, we poured concrete floors, worked on roofs, interacted and worked with the local community, held a small carnival for the community, and immersed ourselves in the culture. Detailed Description: My part in this mission was that of the initiator and the leader. At the end of my first trip to the Dominican Republic, I already knew that I wanted to come back and bring people with me, so before I even returned to the United States, I reserved a time slot for next July. When I returned to Ohio, I began to tell others about and answer questions about my experiences. I promoted the idea in my venture crew, school, and among my friends. The next step was to develop an information packet that included all trip information, helpful links, a list if additional costs, a payment schedule, a form declaring intention to attend the trip, a permission form for those under eighteen, a contact information sheet, a non-refundable deposit payment, and a series of due dates for forms and deposit. I was able to do this by using the Village Mountain Mission Project website and the guidance of Mary Conway, an experienced and knowledgeable leader of many activities and events. Once all that was done, copies were made and distributed to all interested. The consequential step to the information packets was collecting, filing, and keeping record of the money and forms. Mary Conway, who, as Venture Crew 26 Advisor, was legally able to and greatly experienced with handling the money, largely handled this step. She showed and advised me on how to best manage the forms and money. After the group was formed, travel became the issue. These arrangements needed to be made as soon as possible in order to get the best rate possible. To do this I called a group meeting of the Pickerington people at which the best methods for getting the lowest prices were discussed. We decided on the top ones and then each person researched them at home. Another meeting was then scheduled to see who found the best deal. At this point in the process, the Waverly people were not yet part of the group. To include the Cincinnati people though, I called Jim Martin, who had led a group to the Dominican in the past. I shared our information with him that we had found on the American Airlines website, and we began to schedule the arrangements from there. Travel, however, was not the only thing that needed to be arranged as soon as possible. Getting a passport was a process that took months, so the sooner people got them the better. We set a deadline for when passports should be applied for. There was so much to be done before the trip, so I created a trip checklist that had an updated payment schedule, all needed information about pre-trip medications, a recommended hammock and purchasing website, future meeting information, and the contact information of all current group members. Even though registration for the trip had come and gone, I decided to allow people to continue signing up under the condition that they give full payment of whatever money was due according to the payment schedule. Since we needed to use some of that money for travel deposits and send the rest to the Village Mountain Mission Project according to their payment schedule, it was important we have the right amount of money from each person. The next step was to plan the carnival that we would hold for one of the rural villages near Luperon. This was definitely the fun part of the planning. I asked Mary Conway and some of the Pickerington people to come to a planning meeting. We brainstormed games, crafts, contests, and prizes. Next we selected the best of these activities and made a list of all materials needed. Then I delegated these materials among the Waverly group, the Cincinnati group, and the Pickerington group. Each group was e-mailed a list of materials to get. From there, each of the groups could decide how to divide up the list among the people in that faction of the Crew 26 team. The next step was to have a meeting that included everybody. We gathered at restaurant that was central to all three cities to get to know each other. This allowed everyone to meet and get to know each other a little. I put another big group meeting on the calendar a little closer to the trip to discuss the details of the trip. Mary Conway continued to help me collect payments and I continually updated the checklist and answered questions as they came up. The next issue that needed to be addressed was transportation in New York City. There the group had a flight connection at a different airport than the one they flew into. The airport would provide transportation, but it was said to be very unreliable. I called upon group members to see if anyone knew of an alternative way to get from one airport to the other. In the end, Mary Conway found an alternative and relatively cheap service to take the whole group to the other airport. The next preparation that needed to be made was the school supplies for the villages. I designed a letter that requested the donation of school supplies and sent it to two stores in the area and gave the letter to other group members so that they could do the same. In the end, one of the group members was able to secure supplies thanks to the generous contributions of the local fire department. The final planning was taken care of at a big group meeting that was held at the centrally located restaurant. Before the meeting, I wrote an agenda, revised the checklist a final time, and developed a packing list with other recommendations for the trip. At the meeting, everything was discussed from carnival supplies to what the food would be like. This meeting was very important and helped ensure everyone was ready for the trip. All questions were answered and all topics discussed. Final payments were collected, supplies distributed for packing, and meeting times and places arranged for during travel. Once the group actually got there my tasks were fewer. I collected and sorted the school and carnival supplies, set-up the carnival stations, assigned the stations workers, and supervised the carnival. Once we started working on the houses, I was able to determine who had the best understanding of construction and also had leadership skills. I appointed one of the group members a construction supervisor to help ensure the duties were equally delegated to group members. I also wanted everyone to feel like the valuable member of the team he or she was. Delegating different tasks that were both important and of interest to the person was seemingly the best way to do this. All in all, my role was to guide the group through the process of going on an international mission trip, using my leadership skills, administrative abilities, and past experience. I feel like this trip was such a great success. I put a lot of work into it and the result was a wonderful experience that, after all the planning and preparation, went very smoothly. Impact: This experience definitely impacted me in many ways. Not only did I improve and further develop my leadership skills, but witnessed just what I can achieve as a leader. Never has work and sweat felt so good as when we were building those houses, playing with the kids who lived nearby, setting up that carnival, or simply hauling construction materials back and forth. For me, the true fruits of the my labor were the smiles on the faces of the people that were helped, as well as the genuine gratitude and kindness that was shown to the group while we were in the Dominican Republic. It was a life changing experience that made all that seemingly tedious and organizational work well worth it. I think this trip also had an impact on the communities and schools of the group. I know that at my school, when people heard that I had gone on a trip to a third world county to build houses out of cement that was mixed by hand, while staying outside in a hammock without any electronics, technology, or, for most of the trip, running water, it seemed to open up a new world of possibilities of what they could achieve. Doing something like that did not seem to be something they had previously considered. I feel that everyone who went on that trip now has an influence with their peers to inspire them to achieve anything. This inspiration is exactly what I hope for. I was able to lead a group back to the Dominican Republic because others were inspired by my actions. Now those people that went with me in 2008 are inspiring others to go and make a difference too! This trip was all about helping others and changing lives, and that was exactly what happened. From the impact it had on the group members, the Dominicans we interacted with, and our communities, this trip was a wonderful experience that I am very glad to have been a part of. I also believe that the goal of peace through understanding was achieved here. As we immersed ourselves in the Dominican culture we better understood the people and our actions in the community encouraged peace and goodwill toward the Americans that were volunteering there. My continuing plan of action is to pursue my passions and inspire others to do the same. I want to inspire others by being an example, a leader, and a follower, depending on the situation. A difference can be made in any one of these roles. I also plan to pursue a career that will put these ideas into action. I wish to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing and in International Relations. I would like to use these degrees to develop a career that will help others on an international scale.