Last week I had the opportunity to travel to the Dominican Republic and volunteer with Cambiando Vidas (Changing Lives), a U.S. based non-profit organization “dedicated to the idea that every person should have access to the basics of life – food, clothing, shelter, education, and the chance to exercise his or her skills and ambitions.” The organization focuses on building houses, educating youth and encouraging sustainable economic development in rural towns throughout the region.
For a week I worked with a group of 16 volunteers (including my dad, sister and good friend from college) as well as members of the local community to build a new house for a deserving family. Though I enjoyed time away from technology and social media for a week, I was able to learn important lessons in communicating the old fashioned way.
My group of volunteers, as well as the members of the community, spoke varying amounts of each other’s native languages, making simple building tasks quite complicated at times. If finding a happy medium between English and Spanish wasn’t challenging enough, one member of the community who proved himself to be one of the most diligent and skilled workers was both deaf and mute – leaving him without any form of spoken language. Needless to say we got creative with conversing both verbally and physically, learning important lessons in the process.
What occurred to all of us very quickly was that communicating purpose and message is more than just using the right set of words. Actions and shared experiences create a more powerful and unspoken dialogue. Our teamwork and time spent with the community throughout the week brought us closer together than simple conversation could have.
We also found that looking at the end product – a new home – at the conclusion of the week was extremely rewarding, not just because we had donated money for the supplies, but because we had been there from start to finish and had the chance to get to know the family and the community for which the house was built.
As communicators we need to look beyond the words we use and think about the actions and experiences we are creating for our customers. From the beginning it is important to get the customer involved. By situating customer and provider on the same level, working side by side to create an end product that is mutually beneficial, one can forge relationships that go beyond the exchange of resources.
By the end of the week even the most novice Spanish and English speakers had picked up a few of each other’s phrases and antics. We had become part of the community and culture simply by volunteering our time and effort to work toward a common goal.
I think the old adage says it best: “Actions speak louder than words.”
