ALKHOBAR, 8 June 2003 — Some of life’s most valuable lessons are learned the hard way. Carrying bricks, digging holes and sweating in hot and humid weather are all learning experiences.
Twenty-seven students from Dhahran Academy discovered this on a recent 10-day trip to Sri Lanka. The students went as volunteers to build houses. They worked through a non-profit organization called “Habitat for Humanity.” They were the first group of young people from Saudi Arabia to work with this particular charity.
“It was not part of the curriculum,” said David Henry, one of three teachers who accompanied the students. “The school wanted to start something that would get students involved in community service.”
Another teacher, Bernie Reeves, made all the necessary inquiries. “We wanted to take the students to a place that was safe and had no visa problems so Sri Lanka was perfect,” he said.
Before the students could go, however, money had to be raised. For house-building materials, SR30,000 was required. Money was raised in the usual ways: Bake sales, art exhibitions, garage sales and a concert.
Moharyar Ali, a 10th grade student, arranged for the school band to perform on his compound and the performance brought in over SR1,000. In the end, the students collected SR32,000!
The house they worked in was built in a village near Kandy. The place had electricity but no running water! The students, used to a comfortable life in Saudi Arabia, had to get used to physical labor and hard work.
“It was hard physical work,” said one of the students. “We started at 9 a.m. and worked for six hours with a few breaks. We dug holes, carried bricks, mixed cement and laid bricks. We were very hot and sweaty. There were no air conditioners except in our bus for which we waited eagerly.”
Katrina Brown, a 16-year-old 11th grader, said: “I did not have any problem with the physical work. I was motivated and felt energetic. Mixing cement was the hardest thing. We had clean living quarters but there were only two showers: so after work, there was always a race for the shower. Also there were mosquitoes everywhere. We had mosquito nets but they didn’t help much. Also, I got tired of eating curry every day but it was all worthwhile. To help people is a wonderful experience.”
Bernie Reeves remarked that the students worked under very difficult conditions. “They did not even have wheelbarrows! They had to do everything by hand. They even jumped on stones to break them.”
The house the students built had two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. “They also had to dig a well and a cesspool,” said Dave Reeves. “Almost all the work was done by volunteers.”
The students also experienced Sri Lankan hospitality. “The people around us brought coconuts and other food and shared them all with everybody,” one student commented.
“The people demonstrated to the students the essence of community living,” said Bernie. “There were Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists in the area, all working together, all helping each other.”
Surprisingly, nobody got sick but one boy did fall into a newly-dug well. He was simply pulled out, taken to another well and given a hearty wash. The only thing he suffered was being temporarily covered in mud.
It wasn’t always hard work. Two students had birthdays during the trip. Two cakes were bought which nobody ate. The boys played a prank and put shaving cream on one and the other ended up in the face of the birthday girl.
The most memorable time for the majority of the students was a trip to an orphanage. “It was a very emotional experience said one boy. “We all had tears in our eyes and we now realize how fortunate we are.”
