Giving is better than getting

In “the campo” we run into incredible helpers pretty often. Here are three people who showed us that giving is better than getting.

Who needs a kitchen

When our engineers first went to El Jobo to conduct a study for the possibility of a water project, they quickly realized that there was no location where a tank could be built at the proper altitude. After asking several large landowners if they could donate a small corner of their land to construct the water holding tank on, they all declined. The project didn’t seem like a possibility. Hearing about this, Jose, without hesitation, offered to tear down his kitchen to free up his small property for the tank. He did just that, and the tank sits covering half of his own land while providing water for the entire community.

What’s mine is yours

A few years back, we worked in the community of Yaroa Abajo constructing a water system. A volunteer that was carrying pipe suddenly felt dizzy and took a rest in the shade of a small wooden house. The family that lived in the house immediately cut up slices of pineapple and offered it to the volunteer so she could feel better. They told us that they sell bananas and pineapples for a living and that it takes a whole year to grow one pineapple. We were amazed at the way they didn’t hesitate to share freely something so important to their livelihood. We returned this summer to build them a bathroom, and they offered pineapple to every volunteer.

Paying it Forward

Ani Machado volunteered with us and had such an incredible experience, she wanted to share it with someone else. She started a fundraising campaign and raised $1,250. That’s the exact fee a volunteer pays for one of our Service Trips, so Ani decided to use these funds to help someone else experience BLUE and asked us to raffle it. Our winner, Natalia Rovira couldn’t be more grateful to be going to the campo that summer!