Source: MCESG

Marines in Quito take time out to help homeless
Staff Sergeant Brian Woodrick, MSG Det Quito

The Marine Security Guard Detachment in Quito, Ecuador spent the morning of Saturday, 14 May 2005, in the LaBota section of the city building a house for a homeless family. The effort, organized by the Quito branch of Habitat for Humanity (HFH), was the first time the Marines in Quito and HFH joined forces. In 1976, Millard and Linda Fuller founded HFH with a shared vision: a world where everyone has a decent place to call home. Habitat for Humanity Ecuador is a part of the Latin American and Caribbean division of Habitat International. Since 1998, HFH has built over 200 homes in Ecuador for people in need. This is made possible through donations, interest free loans, and volunteer work. This overcast Saturday morning began with the four of us rolling out of the rack wondering what we have volunteered for. We piled into the Detachment Suburban and ventured off to the pre-designated meeting point. Once we arrived at the meeting point, we were surprised to see that there were not very many other volunteers joining us today. With Sgt Mabe just coming off his Mids shift and snoozing in the back seat of the vehicle, we followed the HFH vehicle to the LaBota build site. Quito is a city where 70 percent of the population lives in poverty, and this town was no different. Once the vehicle was parked, we withdrew from the comfort of our vehicle and approached the family whose house we were building. At first we were all a little uncomfortable; us feeling culture shock in this destitute neighborhood and them not being sure what to make of this approaching bunch of "gringos" After mingling for a few minutes, we decided to break the ice would by showing them what we came here to do—to build them a home to call their own. We began by shoveling two tall mounds of cement mix into wheelbarrows and transporting it to the house where it would be used as mortar. After an hour of shoveling and hauling the large cement piles that had eventually dwindled into small remnants of dust clouds on the concrete--our first chore was complete. Our next task would be just as challenging. We were to move a pile of three hundred cinder blocks up a makeshift ladder and stack them onto the structure. We formed a human chain with SSgt Woodrick, Sgt Witt, and Sgt Alexander on the ladder and staged these bricks where they will soon be used for the walls of the second story of the house. Our third and final assignment would be two fill two hundred buckets of the cement and carry them onto the roof in preparation for the making of the mortar. Along with the help of the men who will be living in this house, we lifted the needed cement as planned. After completion of this mission, we joined our local peers for a break. Through hard work and teamwork, the Marines had earned the respect from the local population. As we rested, a crowd began to gather and the small town resident's curiosity gave way to many friendly questions of what we were doing in their Ecuadorian neighborhood. We all comfortably exchanged our thoughts and laughs and took some time for a photo opportunity. After we completed some more odd jobs for the residents, it soon became time for us to head back to our MSG duties. The local people thanked us from the bottom of there hearts and asked us to return next weekend. This may have been the first time the Marines in Quito and HFH joined forces, but it will certainly not be the last.