A $20-ticket for the chance to open a box containing a trip to the Dominican Republic and Haiti was too good to pass up for friends Janice Dolland and Allison Power.
The Corner Brook women were at the Rotary Club of Corner Brook’s Wine to Water event back in October when Dolland asked Power if she wanted to go halves on the ticket.
Power had $10 left for a cab, but said she could walk instead and gave Dolland the money.
When they opened the box and it revealed they had won the trip Dolland was in shock.
“And I was in denial,” said Power. That was followed by a bit of excitement and then shock.
But this was no ordinary trip. It was being offered in conjunction with Live Different, a Canadian charity that undertakes infrastructure projects to address critical needs in communities in developing countries around the world.
The local Rotary Club has donated $20,000 raised through its Wine to Water events to ensure that students at a school in the small village of Calvaire, Haiti, that was built by Live Different have clean drinking water.
The trip would give the women a chance to visit the school and learn more about Live Different’s activities.
On Thursday, they shared their experience with the club during a luncheon meeting at the Greenwood Inn and Suites.
Dolland said after the meeting that they had an idea that it wasn’t a typical beach vacation, and were still interested in going.
“The more I looked into it, the more I was interested,” she said. She knows a few people who do humanitarian work and found the idea interesting.
“And I’ve always kind of wanted to do that myself. So, it really helped me get an insight on what’s really involved,” said Dolland.
“I just love travelling,” said Power, who has travelled to London, Mexico and Cuba.
“So, just anywhere I can go, anywhere I can see, anywhere I can learn, I’m all for it.”
The two travelled to the two countries from Feb. 9-13.
There were no students at the Ecole L’Union on the Sunday they visited, but the women were amazed at the facility, up on a mountain above the city of Cap Haitien, and the work done there.
Power said the school was beautiful, clean and colourful.
More than 300 children who live in poverty attend the school and many of them go hungry. The women learned that Live Different now offers meals a few times a week to the children and hopes to expand on that.
Power was struck by the size of the classrooms and the image of 50 children crammed into them wasn’t lost on her.
“But they’re willing to learn and they’re happy to learn.”
During the presentation Power told the Rotarians that there is still work being done at the school with adding classrooms and that work is to start soon on a freedom centre, an orphanage for girls, that will be located near the school.
While they saw a lot, the women would have liked to participate in a build.
“To get my hands dirty,” said Dolland, who has set a goal for herself to go back in a couple of years to do that. It’s pretty likely that Power will be right there with her.
“The trip was just incredible,” said Power. “The biggest thing for me was seeing that people still care about people.”
Both agree it was definitely worth the $20.
