Habitat for Humanity Costa Rica | Dina's story

When someone asks me, "How was Costa Rica?" my answer is pretty standard: "Amazing." And it was -- the weather, the scenery, the people, etc. Getting to escape the Minnesota winter, even for 10 days, is always a treat. And being exposed to another culture is, I think, one of the best things you can do to better understand your place in the world. Having participated in a Habitat trip to Honduras in 2007, I was prepared for a great experience.

We met Dina and her four daughters on our first day at the build site. They'll be receiving one of the 38 Habitat houses in the new development we were helping to build. Iveth (pronouced like "Yvette") is 10; twins Carolina and Vanesa are 9, and Francis is 5. They had gotten up very early that morning, picked about 30 coconuts from a tree in their yard, and -- I'm not quite sure of the process -- gotten them all down to the size of a softball. During our first break, Dina hacked at each one with a monstrous knife (while we gasped and hid our eyes) until there was a small hole in the top, perfect for a straw. She did this until everyone in our large group had a coconut, and then she did a few more.

Dina has a quiet strength, the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen before. She is in her late 20s, on the shorter side, but athletic. She's shy, but she has a sweet smile. And she is one of the hardest workers you'll ever meet. For the better part of the week, most of our group were wielding pick axes and shovels, trying to get through the heavy, red clay to make way for septic systems and concrete floors. Dina was a machine, hardly stopping for water or to catch her breath.

Throughout the week, I tried to learn more about Dina. Through an interpreter, I asked her a few questions. I got some shy answers, but enough to give an idea of how much this new house will mean to her. She's part of a group of residents of Santa Elena (a very small, very remote town near the Nicaraguan border) who have been fighting for better housing for six years after politicians, promising housing in exchange for votes, never made good on their promises. As the years dragged on and hope dwindled, other residents dropped the cause and said it was crazy to keep fighting. But Dina kept fighting, and midway through our time on the project, we learned why.

Dina's dwelling is right next to a brand-new house built for her brother.

Because of Dina's relationship with her girls' father, who is away much because of his construction job, she is ostracized by her family. She lives in a structure -- I can't call it a house -- right next to her mother's house, which is rustic but well-built, with comfortable amenities. Also next door is a brand-new house that was given to her brother, even though he's younger. Dina doesn't have enough room for her daughters, who sleep in their grandmother's house. She attached pieces of plastic to the outside of her "house" to keep the wind from blowing through the cracks, and the dirt floor is far from sanitary. "She deserves so much more than this," I thought over and over as she graciously allowed me to take pictures (to show the people back home just how much these Habitat homes are needed, I explained). And here she was, making tortillas for 24 complete strangers from the U.S. who were crowded in her front yard. Quiet strength, supreme generosity.

We made tortillas in Dina's mother's kitchen. 

For the remainder of the week, every time I thought of her situation, I got really sad. But immediately, I pictured Dina and her girls in their new Habitat house, surrounded by her friends. Because her new neighbors ARE her friends -- the friends that have been fighting with her for decent homes. She was looking forward to that security, she'd told me early in the week -- a home on land that she owned, where no one could kick her out. She's well on her way, and I'm so inspired by her and the people in Santa Elena who didn't stop fighting.

Learn more about Habitat Costa Rica at their website. You can watch a short video about the project we worked on (La Cruz) here (it's the first video on the list).