A group of Concordia Lutheran High School students from Houston, Texas, journeyed to Costa Rica in mid-March to build a home for a poor family. This was the second group from the school to engage in a service project under the auspices of Global Travel Alliance, but more specifically under the non-profit division, Global Doing Good.

As in the past, Global Travel Alliance staff and Costa Rican residents Daniel Granados and his wife Andrea served as coordinators. Their job is to find families that qualify for a home, coordinate with a contractor, and take care of the details of housing and feeding the students from Houston.

Homebuilding in Costa Rica has garnered the attention of groups all across the United States. As we look forward to fall, 2014, and into 2015, ten group leaders have already indicated they would like to reserve a time slot for their volunteers to participate. The groups range in age from adults to teens. Some hail from churches and some from private and public schools.

Besides building the home, the crews have some very interesting experiences as noted in some of the following comments:

I learned that termites do, in fact, taste like breath mints. Question: how did that amazing revelation come about?

Frogs are scary creatures. Hmm. Must be some rather large ones down there.

On the more serious side, kids were touched and impacted in multiple ways by the experience.

I learned that we have it too easy compared to the lives of those in not so prosperous areas of the world.

But going to Costa Rica isn’t just about homebuilding. Our travelers will get a close-up look at this amazing country that has been called the Switzerland of Central America. Participants will walk the rain forest trails where they will thrill to a large variety of flora and fauna. One of the most astounding sights is watching a flock of Macaws take wing. Ancient and active volcanoes are also prevalent in the country. Some hikes encompass eight different eco-zones. And don’t forget the Costa Rican beaches, some of the most pristine and beautiful in the entire world. You can experience all this and more while you assist a needy family move from a tin and scrap wood shanty into a serviceable new home. Call Global Travel Alliance today toll-free at 1-866-313-2577 and ask for Steve, Bryan, or Jeff for more information about homebuilding in Costa Rica.

Maybe you can’t make the trip yourself, but your support for these life-changing projects would be greatly appreciated. Please be advised that these homes, while sturdy and weather proof, are built to very minimum standards. They total 600 square feet with a common area and two bedrooms. The bathroom facilities and cooking area are outside. Materials for one home cost in the range of $7000. Thank you for considering supporting our homebuilding projects in Costa Rica.

As the group coordinator and Global Travel Alliance Vice President, Steve Maehl, noted after the Concordia project , “We continue to build bridges and change lives through efforts such as these.”

A chance meeting in a paint store between Julie Dasinger and Pam Peterson of Global Travel Alliance resulted in a home being built for a family in Costa Rica. Kirby, Julie’s husband, and she had been discussing what they might do to honor the memory of their granddaughter, Aviella Hope, who was lost in mid-pregnancy. Pam and Jeff had previously told them about Global Doing Good and some of the projects they were involved in. To Julie and Kirby, building a home for less fortunate people in Costa Rica seemed like a fitting memorial. They discussed the idea with their children and spouses, Kira (Far’d), Kelsey (Kyle) and Kaleb (Katie). The consensus was they should do this. 

Daniel Granados and his wife Andrea, Global Travel Alliance staff members in Costa Rica, had already set the plans in place to build the new home for Arturo, Maria and their boys Jorge and Kevin. Daniel met the Dasinger family at their hotel at 7 a.m. each morning and took them to the home site where the ladies began painting the exterior and the men began plastering the inside walls. 

Daniel’s father (who the Dasinger family nicknamed Papa Smurf) had overseen building the home, which was basically completed, except for the projects the Dasingers worked on. 

“Their original home was neat and clean,” observed Kirby, “but it was not stable. During hard rains, water poured in and ran through the house. It was just cobbled together.” 

Arturo and the boys worked right along side of the Dasinger family and Maria kept them supplied with fresh fruit and fruit juice as they labored under the tropical sun. 

“The hardest work,” recalled Kirby, “was mixing concrete on the ground for the interior floors. We made a pile of sand, added gravel, cement and water and began mixing with shovels. What a workout!”

Arturo, Maria and their sons were ecstatic and grateful, but Kirby pointed out that his family was also grateful for the opportunity to serve.“Yes, we impacted this family, but we were impacted too,” he said. “We realized that we take so much for granted living here in America. All of us understand after this experience how very blessed we are. I would recommend that other families or church or civic groups think about doing this. It was very rewarding to us all.” 

The home, named Casa de Esperanza (House of Hope) is nothing special by American standards. It measures about 600 square feet with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a common area that encompasses the living room, dining space and the kitchen. 

by Brynn Burke

Montana to Costa Rica is approximately 2800 miles, three flights and 12 hours of travel, but every second was worth it.  Traveling to Costa Rica with a group of teachers and staff was a great experience and way to get exposed to Costa Rican culture, natural beauty and a vast amount of animals – even the animals that invited themselves to the hotel room and/or the food!

The week started by visiting two Costa Rican families that Global Doing Good has provided homes to.  It was so touching to see the reaction of the children when they saw us.  Hugs and smiles were shared as they invited us to see their home.  This small act of service provided new hope and has completely changed their lives. The mother of the home even offers school lessons from one of the rooms!  A specific aspect of the visit that was so special to me was even with the language barrier, the smiles and laughter helped us all connect.  I will never forget how happy the family was because of the service and home building from Global Doing Good.

We continued the week with many activities including zip lining, snorkeling, rafting and souvenir shopping.  We traveled all over Costa Rica to get a full look at what the country has to offer.  Whether tourists seek adventure, science or a service project, Global Travel Alliance can create a remarkable trip to Costa Rica.  Throughout our travels we saw whales, dolphins, turtles, fish, monkeys and many more animals you can’t see in Montana.  We experienced the full extent of a rain forest storm, and most importantly, we saw the difference that Global Travel Alliance can make for Costa Rican families.  Everywhere we went, there was always a way to converse through a simple smile and laugh.  I loved having that universal language and had to use it many times.  Our bus driver Wallace didn’t speak much English but we still forced him to sit with us at meals… I am sure he really loved it!
Costa Rica was a great destination for travelers from all over.  I loved my experience!

Brynn has been an intern at Global Travel Alliance since the start of Summer 2013. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree for Marketing at Gonzaga University. Interested in becoming an intern for Global Travel Alliance? Shoot us an email with your resume attached. 

Last month, a small service team from Global Doing Good (with help from a Texas student group) built a home for a family in need. And when we say “in need,” we mean that the house the family was living in had tilted, falling, scrap-metal walls, dirt floors, and a holey roof.

They did not live in a church.

Jeff, Pam, Brian, Roy, Brooke, Daniel and Andrea led the Costa Rica Homebuilding project offered by Global Doing Good and constructed a new humble abode in only 10 days. They didn’t do it alone: the student group from The Lone Star State pitched in two days, and so did the family.

Wait...what family?

The family who would be living under their new roof of course…and the family members who live in a new home that was built last year. Brian, the Special Projects Coordinator for Global Travel Alliance, made these comments: ”We worked with a school group on their second home building project and the home they were building was just a matter of yards from the home they built last year.  In many ways, it was more of a reunion than project. I was humbled to see the children of last year’s family pitching in.  To see a family so empowered really reaffirmed the power of service learning in my mind.”

Brooke brought her camera along (check out her pic-snapping skills at brookepetersonphotography.com) and was lucky enough to capture the boys from the new family being boys. Who wouldn’t take their old scrap metal walls and turn them into mud fight front yard castles?

Click through the following images to see this epic Costa Rican mud fight:

Turns out that joy is a heart issue, not a home issue.

Right before the final day key ceremony, each family member helped bring their old furniture inside their new home. They expressed great joy moving in with their broken and scruffy furniture that looked like it came from a barn…not Pottery Barn.

Brian communicated his gratitude: “Thanks to Mr. C, his students, and their parents for making this a reality, again.  I want to thank you sincerely for letting me take part in your project.  I really hope to see some of your faces again next year.  You kids were awesome! I am sure that the rest of the trip through Costa Rica was a blast, even if there may have been a few muscle aches and some very stinky sneakers.  Congratulations and thanks to all of you.”

So what about you? Want to offer some aid? Visit globaldoinggood.org to find out how you can donate, serve, and do good. Enroll now, learn more about the Homebuilding project, or peruse our Google+ Global Doing Good photo gallery!