Habitat Dominicana

Spending 9 days in the Dominican Republic isn’t unusual. The country is wonderful, the people are welcoming, and the beaches are spectacular.

But this wasn’t a vacation – not that we didn’t have some fun. This was a trip of service. In less than a week our team of 16 – employees from Cisco, their partner companies, and I – built two new homes with Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic.

Our group was divided into two groups for a four-day build process. Each group spent one day at the manufacturing facility, producing concrete panels for assembly; another day pouring the concrete foundation for a home; a third day assembling the concrete panels for a home; and a final day doing finish work – grouting, painting, and roof system assembly. In the end, two groups of sales people and system engineers constructed two new homes. Not bad for a bunch of tech employees from Seattle.

Our work with the staff from Habitat Dominican, local laborers, and the future homeowners was productive and, maybe most importantly, fun. The day-to-day camaraderie between the traveling volunteers and our new Dominican friends is what makes Global Village trips like this memorable and truly special.

The pictures from this trip tell only a small part of the story.

In the last three years Cisco employees have worked with Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity on Global Village trips to Guatemala, Honduras, and Colombia. Cisco teams throughout the US are coordinating trips and builds with their local Habitat offices.