Global Changemakers

Last Sunday we woke up early to get ready for the service project at Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. We had to first say goodbye to Amu who had a flight back to South Africa, then Karapet and I along with Charlotta and Scott (who had been stranded in Miami and therefore decided that they might as well join  us at the service project) went on the bus. The ride was 45 minutes away from our hotel and as we got nearer to the area where the service project would be held, I noticed that the area became less and less populated with houses. Later someone told me that the area where the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust was, had actually been full of houses but a hurricane a few years back had leveled everything to the ground. As a result, the Trust had taken the land and started building on it for the Homeless in Miami.

When we arrived it was raining heavily, yet about 900 participants all gathered in an open field to hear instructions on what we were to do.  We were divided into groups. Karapet and I were in a group that got the task of arranging and cleaning up a football court, while Scott and Charlotta tidied the dorms. The football court (or soccer as my American friends would call it) turned out to be an open field next to two homes with lots of grass and stones. There were no white lines to define it and no nets. Some of us were told to assemble the two nets while others were given paint to draw the lines. Karapet and I as well as a few others were given the task of cleaning the field of the rocks and stones. Apparently Florida in general had the problem of having too much rocks and sand in its soil. One of the staff was complaining that the whole field had a layer of rock under the soil but that we were just to take rid of the obvious ones and fill up the holes so that the kids won’t hurt themselves.   It didn’t take long to finish everything since everyone was working with each other.

As I was walking through the houses what surprised me was everywhere I looked I could see families and children. I asked one of the staff about it and she said that the area was specifically for homeless families and that the area next to that was for homeless veterans. She talked about how they were different from other places since they allowed people to stay as long as they needed it, not just for 6 or 9 months like other places did. Some families, she said, especially ones who had been affected by the economic crisis, had been there for a year and a half or two years. She also said that they never let people just leave, that they always helped them look for permanent residence first and made sure they had a steady source of income before they left.

After we finished the work it started to rain very heavily; however, that didn’t stop the children from coming out to play. Some volunteers and staff played a game with them in the new football court. While heading towards the bus, Charlotta, Scott, Karapet and I all met up. A few minutes later Bill Clinton left the building he was in. When he saw us, he approached us. He shook hands with all four of us and thanked us for coming. Then he asked Charlotta and Scott about their flights. When they told him they were stranded in Miami he jokingly said: “Well, I guess you will just have to stay with me in Miami a little while longer”. Once he was seen talking to us, the other participants decided to come for photographs and autographs.  I had already been impressed before by how intelligent and eloquent Mr Clinton was in the plenary session and speeches he made, yet I was more impressed by how gracious and generous he was to the other participants. Someone even knocked his glasses off yet he didn’t refuse to give them an autograph or shake hands with them. He even nearly fell into a hedge while someone was getting a photo with him yet that didn’t bother him either. All in all, I think the service project day went great. It was refreshing to finally take action after two days of sitting in session talking about taking action.

- Lubna Alzaroo