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20 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday April 11, 2008 Loyola students help Dominicans build new future By Tricia Strachan GRADE 11, ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA To the average person, the thought of dreams may not bring cinder blocks, the mixing of cement, and the poverty of the Dominican Republic to mind; but for a hand- ful of students from St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Secondary School, these things may have created the dream of a lifetime. In February, 13 senior students from Loyola embarked on the D.R.E.A.M.S. (Dominican Republic Education and Medical Support) trip to the Dominican Republic to build houses for the impoverished families of the country after floods had washed away their homes. Impressively, the students themselves were highly involved in the entire D.R.E.A.M.S. endeavor. Their tasks included the organization of clothing drives at Loyola, and approaching various businesses and companies in an effort to collect clothing for the people of the Dominican Republic. They even organized a raffle in order to collect donations from the Loyola community, and by the time they left for the trip, the students had gathered 15 hockey bags worth of goods to donate to the underprivileged of the Dominican Republic. During their time in the Dominican Republic, the students weathered the effects of dehydration, fatigue, physical demands, mosquitoes, and difficult transportation (many roads had been washed out by previous hurricanes) in order to successfully build one and a half houses for the community. The students were also considerably involved in the mixing of cement, cutting of rebar, and moving of cinder blocks across a river to the work site. Through the carrying and laying of over 2000 cinder blocks, the 13 Loyola students cemented not only homes for the poor, but were able to cement and solidify a feeling of appreciation for the quality of their own lives. The appreciation was mutual it seems, since the local people were appreciative of the students' care and labour, and many friendships were formed, both between the students themselves and the locals. After days of work and building, and also playing games with and getting close to the local people, the students endured an emotional goodbye on their return back home. Inevitably, the D.R.E.A.M.S. trip gave the students unbelievably rich and unique memories, through the experience of a different culture, people, and way of life. Allison Mclean, one of the supervisors of the trip, reflects upon the students' overall growth from the experience: "Though they left something tangible (house) for the Dominicans, they returned with much more in terms of spiritual and emotional appreciation for what we have here." In fact, Grade 11 student Jessie Stang remarked on how incredible her trip was: "I honestly cannot put it in words that would justify the amazing experience I had. I think that it changed my life more than anything. This experience is something everyone should have to do to really understand and appreciate how fortunate they are. That trip was hands down the best trip of my life. It was life changing." The D.R.E.A.M.S. trip has proven to be a widely beneficial and caring adventure, both for the Loyola students and the people they connected with in the Dominican Republic -- hopefully it will become a recurring dream and tradition within the Loyola school community.