A Brush with Kindness

A few weeks ago, I participated in a Habitat for Humanity project called "A Brush with Kindness." A group of volunteers, builders, leaders, and home owners work on multiple houses in the same neighborhood. Instead of doing extensive repairs to the entire house, this part of Habitat sticks to doing external painting, repairs/improvement, and landscaping. The idea is that these improvements coupled with educating the recipient about home care can help people take initiative in caring for their home. In addition, the neighborhood becomes more beautiful, thus inspiring other home owners to do the same to their houses. While many of the home owners are on some sort of government assistance, most are people who can not do a lot of improvements because of ability or age. They try to do these projects in 1 or 2 weekends, so obviously they involve a lot of volunteers, long days, and effective leadership.

I painted and did a little landscaping on the house for 9 hours one Saturday. The weather was perfect! It didn't rain and it was just a little hot with a steady breeze. By the time I left, it was almost ready to be revealed at the block party on Sunday afternoon. We'd (not just the crew I was a part of but everyone who worked on the house) painted the exterior, put on a new roof, purchased new front windows, built a handle bar around the cement block steps leading into the house, and put a small covering over the door.

The work was tiring, but rewarding. The home owner's son worked along us all day, so it was great seeing to whom the house was going. At lunch, he shared his story and his mom's, so I was really able to she why they were receiving Habitat's help. The entire day he was helpful and encouraging. Obviously, he was proud and thankful. Opposed to my negative experience at the Habitat for Humanity Homestore, the other volunteers, crew leader, and supervisor on site were genuinely kind and helpful. I met a young couple and a few others from a Belmont Church. There were Vandy freshman who had done Habitat at home and some guys from fraternities. We were an eclectic bunch of people who had one goal: To finish the house. It was encouraging to see strangers pull together and work hard all day.

Doing "A Brush with Kindness" reminded me a lot of working in La Mina in the Dominican Republic. The idea of improving some homes and thus inspiring others was the same. Working along side the home owners was the same. Diverse people joining together for a common goal was the same. Really, I think I enjoyed the experience because it was a reminder of the times I had in La Mina. It is not an exaggeration that the Dominican Republic changed my life, so I'm grateful that Habitat was able to reopen some of those memories and allow me to make connections between DR and what I'm doing in Nashville.