As part of the Duke of Ed Gold Trip to Colombia we had the opportunity to build houses for two families in need. Before arriving at our destination, we had no idea what to expect. We were told that we were going to a very poor area near Bogotá and would even require military escort to bring us there. When we finally arrived, this could not have been further form the truth. Instead of the rundown and dangerous area that we imagined, we discovered simple, sparse homes in the country with beautiful views and great weather.

During the building and painting of the houses, one of the relatives of the families that we were helping invited us into their home for a delicious lunch of sancocho, a Colombian stew. We soon learned that whatever wealth they lacked was made up for with kindness, pride, and happiness.

When we finally finished the houses we received big “thank yous” and even saw some of the members break into tears of gratitude and joy for all that we had done. At the end of the day we felt truly humbled. We saw first hand the impact that an act of charity could bring to others, and we all felt very grateful that we were given the opportunity to do the work and make the difference that we had made. If the opportunity presented itself again, I know that we all would have built the houses a thousand times over.
–Louis de Gaspé Beaubien ’16