Kairos team in Abaco shares about their time working at the Community Center in Marsh Harbour and at Agape Christain School. The team is excited to leave their mark on the community.
Check out the past blogs of other teams at Team Updates – Impact Trips (manyhandsimpact.com)
Hello from Abaco! The Kairos team had an amazing first day here in Abaco, Bahamas. Before we got to work, we got a tour of Marsh Harbour, seeing the destruction Hurricane Dorian caused as well as the rebuilding efforts throughout the community. Today involved work at the Murphy Town Community Center, where we not only were able to interact with local kids, but put hard work into restoring the center to its improved state. Some of the group had extensive interactions with local kids, who showed up and wanted to help with cleaning up the garbage. We were able to learn about their school system, their favorite foods, favorite activities, as well as their favorite songs and dance moves (“Teach Me How to Dougie”).
Before lunch, some group members also had the opportunity to go get “Cold Cups”, which are similar to snow cones back in the United States. Before lunch, we had a long basketball tournament with the local kids, and seeing their competitive spirit reminded us the importance of finding joy during trying times. Some of the children even stayed after lunch and helped paint the exterior of the building.
Today’s big project at the community center was bringing drywall into the building in preparation for a future project of drywalling the ceiling and the remaining walls. While most of the group helped with the drywall, others focused on cleaning up garbage inside and outside, as well as sweeping and making the building look cleaner. After lunch, we split into 2 groups. One group went to a different site (Agape Chrisitan School) to help clean up a gym of old supplies, and the other group stayed at the Community Center and worked on painting the exterior of the building or hanging hurricane straps. We made great progress today, with all of us feeling driven and determined to get as much done as possible.
One of our biggest goals as a team is to leave our mark on the community. The Community Center acts as a hub, hosting events, tutoring sessions, and a place for kids to hang out. We can leave our mark by getting as much done as possible, restoring the building, giving the locals a place where they can feel welcomed and further deepen their connection with their community. After Day 1, we can confidently say that we are so excited for what the rest of the trip has in store.
