HEALDSBURG

Staff & Member Superstars

STAFF SUPERSTAR

Our beloved Aquatics Director Lauren Ahlgren travelled to Mozambique, Africa, with Habitat for Humanity to build homes for children tragically orphaned by the HIV/AIDs crisis. Here is her account of her experience. Thank you Lauren for giving your time and energy to this worthy endeavor.

My perception of Africa morphed dramatically after actually having been there. No longer do my visions consist solely of savannas and a Serengeti derived from a childhood love of The Lion King. Spending two weeks in Mozambique and South Africa with a Habitat for Humanity volunteer team developed my naivety into a more tangible understanding of two striking countries. One of which is struggling to defeat the resilience of immoral cultural traditions to better fit the standards of leading modern civilizations. From traveling to and fro amidst the countries, eating unique cuisine, meeting smiling locals who shared their stories and hardships, building two homes from the ground up, and taking part in safari excursions, my adventure in Africa made for one of my most memorable trips thus far.

My Habitat team first met me as a disheveled woman whose excitement about finally arriving in country was punctuated by flight induced cankles and with a lingering odor that distinctly comes from sitting in an enclosed space for far too long. The journey had begun with thirty hours of flights from SFO to Maputo, Mozambique, and my lower half had become swollen from being confined to my seats. Within the first hour of arriving at our hotel and mingling with the preliminary arrivals of the group I had already forgotten everyone’s names. It seems that no matter what circumstance or surroundings my temporal lobe can never get it together enough to perform seemingly simple tasks like remembering names of new acquaintances.

Maputo rests by the Indian Ocean and is significantly accented with acacia tress, half finished skyscrapers, a multitude of street vendors, and historical architecture. Being independent from Portugal for less than fifty years, the Portuguese influence on Mozambique’s culture is readily apparent. After driving with the group from Maputo to Xai-Xai, the town near the village we would be building at, I promptly understood what most of my meals would involve. Portuguese bread rolls, instant coffee, black tea, and non-descript corn cereal were our breakfast staple. Milk, fruit, and one-egg omelets were a politely fought over commodity in the mornings. Their appearance at the food table was brief and never guaranteed. Lunch was a bustle to grab the best sandwiches out of the food box provided. Tuna was the overall favorite; while the unlikely combination of processed cheese and pear jam sandwiches were easily the least favorite. The best meal of the day was indubitably dinner. Being a coastal country Mozambique often had dishes centered around seafood. Always present at the table were bowls of simple salad (lettuce, onion, tomato, vinegar dressing), thick cut French fries, maize meal, and potatoes. Accompanying these local staples was a style of spicy pepper condiment called piri piri. Each restaurant featured a different variation of the sauce, with scaling degrees of spiciness, flavors, and consistency. Obviously I was obligated to smuggle some of this fiery dish enhancer back to the States.

The two houses my team built sat amidst a quaint village named after a local historical event, Tres de Fevereiro, which is Portuguese for the “Third of February,” and signifies Heroes’ Day in Mozambique. Unfortunately the village was unsurprising with its manifestation of characteristics that a developing country often exhibits. A maze of earthy roads led us through the village and past the numerous wooden stick shanties and crude concrete block homes of the more fortunate. The welcome we received by a crowd of villagers on the day of our arrival exceeded any expectations that may have formed on our ride over. Women and children of all ages sang, danced, and trilled to music beats indigenous to the local region. Right away it was apparent that the population of men in the village was nearly non-existent. The only males we saw were children or a few select elderly village figures. Since the average annual income for individuals in Mozambique is merely three hundred and seventy US dollars, a vast majority of the country’s men travel to South Africa for extended periods of time so that they can earn more money for themselves and their families by working in dangerous lines of work, such as mining. Often these men will have sex with prostitutes or other women who are infected with HIV/AIDs and then return home to their families carrying the disease. Condom use between married couples is practically non-existent, and is also considered to be un-masculine. These detrimental cultural practices are the cause for matriarchal and child populated villages, a widespread HIV/AIDs epidemic (one in four people in Mozambique are HIV positive), and nearly half of the country’s population consisting of children. Until we entered the village we had little clue of how dire the struggle the need for change really is, especially in regards for Mozambique’s necessity for a women’s rights movement.

Before my journey to Africa my father had doubts about my skills as a manual laborer. He knew I had no experience building houses and am used to less physically demanding work than what is required on Habitat projects. I can still picture the look of fatherly skepticism he gave me when I eagerly defended my potential abilities, but I like to think that by then he had grown use to me surprising him with my bold adventures to places he has never been.

It took only five days for our team of sixteen Habitat volunteers, six masons, and a sprinkling of eager village children to build homes for each of the two families that were selected for our project. Each home is one hundred and ninety-three square feet and made up of two rooms. We dug up hundreds of pounds of sand and mixed concrete in wheelbarrows with shovels, we laid brick, we hand moved blocks, wood, and buckets of concrete, we crafted rebar for the roofs, and spackled the exterior walls. I took pride in being the one of the only people on our team who could easily maneuver buckets of concrete and heavy blocks up onto scaffolding for the masons while standing on the ground below. I had the advantage of height and upper body strength, but being able to do a difficult task with surprising ease drove me to want to do it all day. I wore a curious smile for most of the time I was on the build site because I knew that not only did these homes have incredible importance, but I knew my father would be proud that I proved him wrong.

Habitat not only provides the houses for families in the most dire of need in Mozambique, but also a latrine, mosquito nets, certeza (water purifier), inheritance training, and will writing. Often when families lose a husband, or children are orphaned completely, a common cultural practice is for the husband’s family to take over the deceased’s home and kick out the children and widow. Habitat documents homes to belong to the youngest child in the family so that it can remain with the family for as long as possible. Also, this ensures that if someone were to try and take the house, like a new husband of the mother for example, the house would still remain in possession of the youngest child. Local officials both from Habitat and in the village make sure that this is enforced. Habitat workers visit all families that they’ve provided housing for by stopping by unannounced to make sure nothing is awry with the family or the house, and to also make sure that they’re still making progress toward a better life. Sometimes upon surprise inspection a Habitat employee will find that the mother of a home will have remarried and the new husband will be living in the Habitat house and the children will be confined to living in their old residence, a small hut made of sticks and twine.

By the end of our time in a country that had grabbed our attention with all of its flawed beauty, our Habitat team was hesitant to leave. Once the houses were dedicated to the two families and our goodbyes were had, our well-bonded group left Mozambique to numerous next destinations. A few went home to the States, one to Canada, and another to the United Arab Emirates, while the majority (including myself) ventured to South Africa to experience further adventures in Kruger National Park.

With time to readjust to home back here in the seemingly idyllic bubble of suburbia we call Healdsburg, the significance of my two weeks in Africa has had time to permeate. Even now though I find the entire trip to be surreal, something concocted in the imagination of a much younger self. Each travel opportunity I have taken a part in has turned out to be incredulous hands-on field trips that instill some of the best lessons I have learned, and will ever learn. Mozambique has been no exception. The more I travel, the more I want to discover and share every gem of life lessons that have been bestowed upon me with the experiences.

I plan to participate in another Habitat trip sometime next year, and I wish nothing more than for at least one person who reads this to take the initiative to leave on an adventure of their own. It doesn’t necessarily have to be through Habitat (although it’s an incredible organization both locally and globally) or to somewhere on the other side of the earth, but as long as it leads you to a place outside of your comfort zone I promise that once you return you’ll understand exactly what I’m trying to convey. There will forever be thousands of excuses as to why you should stay at home instead of going to a place you only dreamed of visiting. You will always have commitments, responsibilities, financial worries, fears, and people telling you not to go just yet, but that will never change no matter what age you are. The world is chalked full of wonderful people, epidemics hidden behind the shadows of first world news, and cultural experiences that will permanently alter your perception of both yourself and the world. The best advice I may be able to give is to just do it. Go now. Don’t wait, because you may never go otherwise.
 

You. Fit. Winner

Congratulations Barbara Nelson for winning the April You.Fit. drawing! Barbara won a $100 gift certificate to a local winery of her choice. Make sure you are coming in at least eight times per month and using your membership card – old style, key tag style or smart phone app. - and you can be the next winner!

Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!   Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!   Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Congratulations to our October You.Fit winner, Patricia Donoho! Patricia won a $100 gift certificate to Akoia Day Spa in Healdsburg.  Our November YOU.FIT.REWARDS Focus is the Fit ‘n’FUNdraiser – Thank you so much to all of our members and staff who participated in our 2012 Fit ‘n’ FUNdraiser.  We raised $3023 which will be split equally between the Healdsburg Food Pantry and the Healdsburg Animal Shelter, our two equally nominated charities.  WELL DONE EVERYONE!  Remember all you have to do is come eight times per month to be eligible for the monthly drawings. Please email Emily Avila at emily@parkpointhealthclub.com to make sure you are signed up for You.Fit Rewards or if you have any questions about the program.

Keep up the hard work everyone, you all are doing great!