Jean Philip Albert and Marie Claude Huard
of Montreal, Canada
A week in El Salvador is changing the lives of two Canadians. Jean Philip Albert and his wife, Marie Claude Huard, knew they wanted to help people in need. They just didn’t know how much they would be helped in the process. “This week will change our thinking about helping people. In Quebec, people don’t do that much volunteering and now when I go back home I want to do more,” Marie says. “We are definitely changing here.”
Jean works in residential real estate and Marie takes care of their two children in their Montreal home. They were inspired to join the El Salvador blitz after hearing from a family friend who worked at the Fuller Center blitz builds in Shreveport, Louisiana.
They have been mixing mortar and helping build cinder-block walls under an intense sun that never felt so strong in Canada. Dust is flying and the days are hot and long, but there are no complaints from these two.
“We take things for granted at home and this brings you back to reality. It’s important to have four strong walls and a roof to be safe with your family,” Jean says. “It’s like some people are not born in the right place. Some people in the United States and Canada are poor, but not like this. That’s why I really wanted to come here to help.”
Marie says she especially enjoys the personal, hands-on aspect of the blitz. “I like helping people and being here and seeing it all. I like working with people and accomplishing something,” she says. “We can give a check, but we wanted to be here and be a part of it. I like meeting the families and seeing how happy they are.”
–David Westerfield, Community Renewal International, reporting for FCH.
