Donations go a long way on student mission trip

February 19, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
Things we take for granted go a very long way in developing nations.
And everyday items, such as President’s Choice reusable shopping bags, become a valuable resource to those with limited means.
Several students from St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in Bolton participated in the annual mission trip to El Seibo, Dominican Republic. The group assisted native Dominicans as well as the Haitian community there, staying at a missionary centre run by the Daughters of Mary (les Filles de Marie). Also joining them were students and staff from Father Michael Goetz secondary school in Mississauga.
They rolled up their sleeves, filled and handed out those very PC bags stuffed with donations to make the lives of others a bit easier. The bags were used to hold roughly one week’s worth of food, such as rice, flour and cornmeal. In previous years, the mission team members struggled with inferior plastic bags that simply were not up to the task.
This year, a King grocer stepped up and donated 300 of the bags. John Ciarallo, from John’s No Frills in Nobleton, was pleased to pitch in.
“The students identified it as a need to help assist with the mission in distributing the necessities. I was in a position to help, so I was happy to do it!” Ciarallo said.
The bags were simply “fabulous,” according to Urszula Cybulko, chaplaincy leader at St. Michael. “They were helpful to hand out food and they become a usable resource for families.”
The mission team members collected items and filled two suitcases each with donations. All of this, including their luggage, was left behind for the betterment of their hosts.
Cybulko said those suitcases become valuable pieces for families to use for storage.
“It’s overwhelming to see how overjoyed they were to receive our discarded items,” Cybulko observed.
Also pitching in from King was King City Guardian Pharmacy and Haider Meghjee, who donated toiletries and over the counter pain medicine.
The team’s efforts were concentrated on helping the Haitian community the area near Consuelo, the majority of who are sugar cane workers living in bateys. A batey is a company town consisting of makeshift barracks, located close to cane fields so that groups of workers can live near the site of their labor. Conditions are often what we consider deplorable.
The situation on the island nation of Hispaniola is unique. It’s a case of the poor (Dominicans) oppressing an even poorer neighbour (Haitians). While the Dominican Republic enjoys certain economic and tourism income, Haiti remains impoverished (rated as the poorest country in the Americas). Conditions there were exacerbated by the massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2010 that left more than 300,000 dead and 1.6 million homeless. The country has yet to recover from this disaster.
Many Haitians have moved to the Dominican in search of a better life, yet it’s all within a developing nation, and there are limitations on Haitian immigration.
Though long known for sugar production, the DR’s economy is now dominated by services. Unemployment, government corruption, and interruptions in electricity remain major Dominican problems. The country also has noticeable income inequality. International migration affects the Dominican Republic as it receives and sends large flows of migrants. Haitian immigration and the integration of Dominicans of Haitian descent are major issues.
And yet, the efforts of a handful of high school students brought people together, all the while letting them know that strangers care.
This was Cybulko’s third trek and she noted each year is different – as different as the participants themselves.
The team of kids this year came together very well and ministered to one another. This time they were more involved in the lives of the residents, cementing their relationship. They returned this time as “friends” not strangers.
They actually spent two hours cutting and loading sugar cane into a wagon. The average Haitian worker spends 12 to 14 hours a day in the sun, for a meager 75 cents.
The Sisters held a communal birthday celebration for youngsters in the community and the mission team joined in, handing out toys.
They also took a handful of children to the beach for an afternoon. These children had never seen the ocean before and were simply awestruck by the excursion.
The students visited six bateys during their week-long stay to meet the poorest of the poor. One day, things became a little tense as crowds gathered and jostled around the donation wagon. Cybulko said this was desperation, plain and simple. The recipients, of all ages, were in the end, thrilled with the much-needed donations of food, clothing and toys for the youngsters.
“Literally standing in the middle of desperation, I could feel what these people felt,” said Lexie Hesketh-Pavilons. “Pleading for shoes isn’t what they want to do, but what they need to do.”
“Seeing the people’s faces light up when we handed out donations in the bateys was the greatest joy I had today. To put it simply, it is amazing how something that seems so little to one can be a huge treasure to another,” wrote one team member.
The high school teens were all deeply touched by the experience and Cybulko said they all matured and showed real growth.
“It may seem like they have nothing, but at the same time these people of the Dominican Republic have it all. They always want to hold your hand, jump on our backs, and they want us to share in their love,” wrote another student.
Hesketh-Pavilons made the trip for the second year in a row, working at part-time jobs to earn the money, and asking local residents and merchants to lend a hand with donations.
“After my first mission in 2013 to the Dominican Republic, I realized ‘why not do more, why not go back?’ Help is endless.”
Her experiences this year were just as profound.
She noted after a long day handing out donations, she noticed a young boy about six years old. She stared into his big, brown eyes and saw his potential for greatness.
“There is an entire world we are all living in, and everyone plays a part.
We all have a purpose, she contends. “Whether you’re poor or rich, big or small, black or white, we are all connected and are meant to make ourselves known,” she observed.
She’s grown stronger from the experience.
And she’s even more adamant about helping others.
“We are all in this together,” she said. “We must help one another in these times of need. If we don’t who else will?”