I arrived in Santiago yesterday to begin my volunteer trip with Habitat for Humanity. The 4 hour flight from Lima to Santiago felt extremely long. I was sleep deprived and had severe stomach issues. The rain in Santiago casted a gloomy outlook on the city. I started to miss my travel buddies (E was on his way to Sao Paulo and Sa and Ed to Rio De Janeiro).
At the hotel, I met my Habitat team. It was a group of 13 Canadians of diverse backgrounds and ages. We were staying at the Windsor Hotel by Cerro Santa Lucia, a hill located in the centre of Santiago. Later in the evening, we had a team meeting and found out the details of our work site and accommodation. The introduction to our build and teammates was not exactly well organized. Most of us were still jetlagged and just wanted to get some rest.
The next morning, we packed a van and were driven to the build site in Melipilla, a small town about 2 hours southwest of the city. Another van dropped off our luggages at a farm in a remote secluded area where we will be staying for the next 2 weeks.
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| The farm where we stayed during the build |
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| Snoopy, 1 of the 4 dogs at the farm |
The house that we were working on belong to Cristobal and his family. Christobal is a 6 year old boy who was born without arms and with deformed legs. The goal is to retrofit the house and to make it more accessible. We were told that Cristobal is actually quite well-known around Santiago as the poster child of another charity campaign called Teleton. He has the sweetest smile and is very skilled in using his feet to operate his wheelchair or even to play video games. He roamed around in his wheelchair, as active as any other little boy. He was just living his life like a normal kid.
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| The house of Cristobal and his family |
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| The smiley Cristobal and I |
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