Twenty nine Oceanside teenagers have recently returned from a “Hero Holiday,” a holiday that dramatically changed a village in the Dominican Republic. Although they were kids with strong leadership abilities before they left, it changed them too … for the better.

The Oceanside kids were one of three different groups from across Canada that spent a total of five weeks working on community development projects over the summer, the third year of the program. They worked toward completing a school last year’s group started, including building desks and benches for each classroom. They also started a second one.

“I’ve been a school administrator for 30 years,” Bill Rawlins, the man behind Hero Holiday in this area, told me, “and I’ve never seen another program like this. It turns kids around 180 degrees in terms of their perspective on world on issues like poverty, child soldiers and child sex trade. My hope and dream,” he continued, “is that over the years these kids will create positive change not only here in Canada but around the world.”

Lea Silver, who had just returned from her second summer working on the project, confirmed Bill’s comments. “Hero Holiday changed my life,” she enthused. “It’s the most amazing experience I’ve ever had.”

Lea is now planning on focusing her studies on global issues with a long-term goal of working to help people in Third World countries.

Sandra Brigham participated in the project for the first time this year.

“Before I left,” she told me, “I had no life plan. Now I know what I want to do. Seeing the need made me realize that I can do a lot, especially with a group of people … When I got back, I felt like I had a purpose and I feel much more driven to accomplish things. I want to get a career in humanitarian relief.”

Amanda Dunn was moved by the people she met.

“Here in Canada we complain about what we want but we have all we need. There they don’t even have what they need and yet they are happy and they don’t complain at all,” she marvelled.

Amanda went on to tell me about spending time with a community of people who make their living scavenging for food and recyclables in a garbage dump and how excited they were when they found a cob of corn that someone had thrown out. Although it was burned on one side and came out of the dump, they saw it as a real treat.

She also talked at some length about dribbling a soccer ball with the kids in the community and how she will never again touch a soccer ball without thinking about them. She got to know a number of adults in the community as well when she went to a church service with them. It was held in a very small, candle lit building. As she described it, it was a rather dilapidated structure but they were thankful for what they had and happy to have it.

Anyone, especially a teenager, can learn a lot from an experience like that.

Amanda feels the Hero Holiday program is important because it reaches high school students at the time they are making decisions that will determine the direction their lives will take.

After spending time with people from the community surrounding the garbage dump and actually building a building that will serve as a school/community centre/church for another community, a person’s world view is definitely going to change and they are going to learn that we all have the ability to make a difference.

That’s what happened to 29 Oceanside kids this summer.

When enough of us learn that lesson, the world will be a better place.