Blog+Day+15-+5.18.11

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F or our second day with Habitat for Humanity, we worked with My Brother’s Workshop at the St. Thomas Historical Trust. The St. Thomas Historical Trust’s mission is to identify, protect, and preserve the historical identity, structures, sites, and cultural heritage of St. Thomas through education, advocacy and promotion. The work was mainly on the face of the building. Our tasks included preparing a flowerbed, clearing the ghuts and removing unwanted plants and trees. As we were working on the tasks, the pick-up truck was filled with dirt to capacity. =====  A couple of hours into the day I along with two other students volunteered to go pick up some plants and flowers from a local nursery with three workers from My Brother’s Workshop. This trip turned out to be quite an adventure. All three of us students and one of the workers sat in the bed of a pickup truck on a mound of dirt that had to be dropped off at the landfill. So our first stop was the Bovani landfill, the only landfill on St. Thomas. The USVI locals joke that the only export of St. Thomas is garbage because a portion of the garbage has to be exported due to the lack of space in the landfill. As we approached the landfill the smell of garbage and sight of flies and seagulls overwhelmed me. I quickly put on the mask the workers from My Brother’s Workshop gave me at the beginning of the trip. Instead of being disgusted by the landfill, I was in awe with the breathtaking view. From this landfill, on top of one of the island’s highest point, I could the ocean everywhere I looked. I completely forgot about the smell as I looked out upon the beautiful blue water. After the landfill we drove to ABC Nursery and picked up flowers that we were then going to plant. After this, I had a chance to talk to Sarah, the Habitat for Humanity Volunteer that we have been working with. She explained the mission behind My Brother’s Workshop. This organization employs 16-24 year old young men who have criminal pasts. The hope behind this employment is to gain the skills to eventually obtain a different job. Because of the size of the island many of these men are discriminated against due to the area of town they are from. By working with My Brother’s Workshop, this allows the men to have a good reference to eventually help them find a permanent job. My Brother’s Workshop has helped 100 men move on to find longer lasting jobs. Even though My Brother’s Workshop only employs 20 men at a time, this organization has had an influential impact in the community While they went to unload the pick-up truck, the executive director of the Trust, Pamela Reid, updated the Trust’s Facebook Page. She posted, IT’'S A GREAT DAY AT THE TRUST! My Brother's Workshop and Habitat for Humanity VI have teamed with the Global Intercultural Experience for Undergraduates USVI Student Scholars from the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!!!) to give the Trust Headquarters a facelift! With a wonderful donation of plants from Bryan's Plants Landscaping and Garden Supplies, the Trust is really stylin'. Stop by and admire our new look! Through her connections with the //St Thomas Source//, Ms. Reid was able to feature the project and information on our group for an upcoming article. So exciting! The impact My Brother’s Workshop and our group made did not only help the Trust. By throwing away the glass, rocks and unwanted items in the flowerbeds and clearing the ghuts for rainwater, we changed the environment.