Skip to content

Castor youth return from Caribbean

They change lives during a once in a lifetime experience
13098763_web1_ks-GW-students-4247
The Gus Wetter School Live Different team: Emmarae Bowyer, Haley Ries, Taytum Wahl, Sage Geier, Hope Wiart and Jess James. Front row: Josh Kuefler, Tucker Bagshaw, Hunter Baldwin and Lyn Peach. (Contributed photo)

By Kevin J Sabo

For the Advance

Some of Castor’s youth, and their chaperones, took on an amazing challenge and changed lives in the process.

At the beginning of the last school year a group of Gus Wetter School students, under the guidance of teacher Jason Faber, decided they would partner with Canadian charity organization Live Different to raise money to build a home for a family in the Dominican Republic. All school year this group has raised funds, and on July 17 they flew down to the small Caribbean nation where they would remain until coming home July 27.

What began as a journey to help others for the Live Different team that went down became a life-changing event for the youth and adults alike. Memories were made and lifetime friendships were forged through the experience.

What struck the group the most?

“We could see the poverty right in front of us,” said chaperone Heide Downey at the Live Different presentation held on Aug. 8 at the Castor Community hall.

Downey, and several others made mention of the “Beaches of garbage,” and “Garbage everywhere outside the tourist areas.”

Gus Wetter student Hunter Baldwin said that despite the poverty in the country, “They didn’t complain about anything.”

Downey said that even beyond the not complaining about anything despite ample opportunity to do so, “They have pride,” noting that everyday they went by, the locals were always in clean clothes, and the men were clean-shaven.

Recent Gus Wetter graduate Jess James said to the crowd that for her the trip was made of many, “Very significant moments,” which is a sentiment shared by all the presenters.

One of the memories that all the students on this trip shared was the “Day in the life” aspect of the trip, where several members of the group would be pulled off the build for a few hours, and would spend those hours talking to residents, and help them prepare a meal which was supplied by Live Different. Different team members would go every day. One of the students reported that the meal they helped the family prepare was the first meal the family had eaten in almost four days, and it is not uncommon for families to go for 12-17 days without clean water due to lack of money.

In total, the Gus Wetter Live Different team raised more than $46,000. The money paid for their flights, their Live Different fee, transportation and accommodation, contractor’s fees and the materials for the family’s new home.

That $46,000 also gave a family in an impoverished nation something non-tangible. It gave them hope for the future. In a country where the average salary is 8,000 pesos, and rent and food add up to 9,000 pesos, it is not hard to see why people struggle. This new home build, which is totally paid for, will allow the family to have money for their children go to school. It will allow them to have food on the table and it will provide a table to make memories around for years to come.

This act of kindness could not have happened without the tremendous support the group had from the community in Castor. The kids and chaperones may have done the dirty work on the ground, but everyone supporting them in Castor made it happen.

13098763_web1_ks-GW-school
Castor Live Different team and locals who helped on the project. (Contributed photo)
13098763_web1_ks-GW-school-27072_n
Gus Wetter School youth dig a hole to make concrete in early in the trip. (Contributed photo)
13098763_web1_ks-GW-students-9216_n
The youth quickly found that bucket lines were the most efecient way to move concrete for the build. (Contributed photo)