"Your Arm is Mistake?"
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 1:29 am
Hey everyone! I haven't posted in awhile but I just got back from a 10 day humanitarian trip through Global Brigades to Ghana (Africa) to build rain wáter storage units and latrines for an impoverished, rural community. I was with a lot of my friends from school and it was an amazing experience! I just wanted to share what it was like traveling and working with this injury. We basically did 5 days of physical labor to get the wáter storage unit constructed and it was really hard work, injury or not. I was careful not to overexert myself on either arm. I was able to shovel, mix, apply mortar to the walls, and build a wire frame but definitely didn't jump up first to carry giant concrete blocks around. It's pretty important to know your limits and I was able to contribute a ton without pushing too far. A couple of my friends already knew about my injury but I told the many of the others about it throughout the trip. It was never a big deal and the only time it was really mentioned was when people said I was pretty good at shoveling especially considering I'm doing it with 1.5 arms.
What I thought was funny was some of the locals' reactions. I was only asked about my arm a couple times total but it made me smile. The first time, a little girl ran up and looked at my arm and then said "hurt?". I nodded and just repeated "yes, hurt" and she nodded solemly then wanted to play. They barely spoke English so I couldn't really explain, but they honestly didn't seem to care anyway. Another time a little girl came up and said "your arm is mistake?." I started laughing because that is actually pretty accurate, and told her it was. The last time it was an adult who asked "hurt?" and when I told her it was she got a chair and wanted me to rest thinking I hurt it while working. She was so sweet and seemed a little confused when I tried to explain it was always hurt.
I've done similar work in Honduras and Panama as well and Public Health & Global Health are definitely passions of mine. I just wanted to say to never miss an opportunity to volunteer, travel, or pursue your passions because of this injury. I know that sometimes I worry that my injury will get in the way but it's never as bad as I think. Compensating is what we're good at and there's almost always a way! Signing up for a construction project of all things was a little daunting because I was worried there would be things I couldn't help with. But there was actually never a moment when I wasn't able to help in some way. You also can't be afraid to ask for help! When I had to get my carry-on in the overhead bin on the flight I awkwardly fumbled around awhile before realizing I was surrounded by plenty of friends and strangers who wouldn't mind getting it for me. At the work cite I wasn't the only one asking for someone to team up with me to carry heavy things and to get a substitute when shoveling too long. Working together is part of life and doing everything on your own isn't necessary!
Anyway, I just had a really great experience and wanted to share!
Anybody else do volunteer work simlilar to this or have funny experiences explaining your injury in a foreign place?
Brittney, 21
LOBPI
What I thought was funny was some of the locals' reactions. I was only asked about my arm a couple times total but it made me smile. The first time, a little girl ran up and looked at my arm and then said "hurt?". I nodded and just repeated "yes, hurt" and she nodded solemly then wanted to play. They barely spoke English so I couldn't really explain, but they honestly didn't seem to care anyway. Another time a little girl came up and said "your arm is mistake?." I started laughing because that is actually pretty accurate, and told her it was. The last time it was an adult who asked "hurt?" and when I told her it was she got a chair and wanted me to rest thinking I hurt it while working. She was so sweet and seemed a little confused when I tried to explain it was always hurt.
I've done similar work in Honduras and Panama as well and Public Health & Global Health are definitely passions of mine. I just wanted to say to never miss an opportunity to volunteer, travel, or pursue your passions because of this injury. I know that sometimes I worry that my injury will get in the way but it's never as bad as I think. Compensating is what we're good at and there's almost always a way! Signing up for a construction project of all things was a little daunting because I was worried there would be things I couldn't help with. But there was actually never a moment when I wasn't able to help in some way. You also can't be afraid to ask for help! When I had to get my carry-on in the overhead bin on the flight I awkwardly fumbled around awhile before realizing I was surrounded by plenty of friends and strangers who wouldn't mind getting it for me. At the work cite I wasn't the only one asking for someone to team up with me to carry heavy things and to get a substitute when shoveling too long. Working together is part of life and doing everything on your own isn't necessary!
Anyway, I just had a really great experience and wanted to share!
Anybody else do volunteer work simlilar to this or have funny experiences explaining your injury in a foreign place?Brittney, 21
LOBPI
We learn to think out of the box by our trys and what we can and cant do by our 1.5 arms 
It has always been a challenge for me to 
sometimes "Bossy"