Hats Off To Team Scotia!

Two teams of fearless Scotia Volunteers contributed time to help needy families in a joint Scotia and Habitat for Humanity effort.  The mission was a huge success and the Foster and Miller families are hugely grateful for the fabulous work completed.  Below are highlights of moments as dainty bankers were transformed into rugged construction workers:

 June 01, 2002: Cement Mixing on Electric Avenue

Team:  Sara, Nadine, Paula, Carol, Delfin, Yvette, Amini and Evlin

 The weather was beautiful and a motivated gang arrived at the site anxious to see what tasks would be assigned.  Under the administration of Habitat’s contractor, Mr. Kenrick Logan, (humorously referred to as the “slave driver”) work was under way.  In no time, 7 of Scotia bank’s finest females were getting down and dirty with the mixing of batches of cement.  Yes my friends that is ... 6 parts gravel to 1 part cement!

 ã     Amidst the flexing of muscles and wiping of sweat, the group could not help but notice Nadine who never complained about the constant shovelling of sand.  Little did we know that she had strategically secured the lightest shovel.  Smart move gial!

 ã     Delfin, our only male support for the day and the tallest in the group, was assigned to pour cement mixture into the beams of the house.  Somehow, pouring appeared easier than mixing!  We could not help but wonder, are you just used to having Carol do all the hard work?  Payback time di come bwoy!

 ã     By 10:30a.m. Sarah was at the point of starvation – no soup today? At least all the shovelling and lifting of buckets filled with cement helped to tone her arms.

ã     Paula somehow managed to preserve her long, red, manicured nails under those rough construction gloves – unbelievable!  Are those Lee Press On Nails?

 ã     Yvette thought she would never be doing hard labour in her lifetime but there’s a first time for everything!

 ã     Amini, who conveniently arrived at the site on “Belize time” paid the price the following day with an excruciating back ache – at least “Mendez” was available for free massages!

 ã     Evlin looked like a pro and managed to serve as the Bank photographer as well... we won’t mention any of those cut off shots at this time – it must have been the sun!

 Before we knew it, 3 houses had passed and it was lunchtime!  Big Daddy’s lunches never tasted so good!  After the break we decided to call it a day, but alas, a little troublemaker locked her keys in her vehicle!  Having proven that we could be good at construction, the team took turns to see if they could also be good at picking locks.  Eventually, a professional locksmith was summoned to the rescue.  Luckily the charge for the job was waived proving that good things happen to people who do good.

 June 08, 2002:  Cement Washing on Benbow Street

Team:  Mr. Andrews, Noel, Sarah, Paula, Patricia, Emory and Evlin 

Under the supervision of Ms. Sainsbury, manager at Habitat, the team of 7 arrived at the site filled with enthusiasm and energy.  The first task assigned was cement washing.  This is a low budget form of plastering with a cement/water mixture and was light stuff for those volunteers who had survived the previous weekend’s work!

 ã     Patricia and Noel each developed their unique cement mixing methodology – Noel would start with water then added the cement powder, Patty did the opposite.  Although there were debates as to which was the better method, the end product looked the same to the rest of us!

 ã     Mr. Andrews was a regular ‘Speedy Gonzales” and plastered the entire East Wing of Ms. Miller’s House in no time!  It must be that SDP...he sought, discovered and prospered!

 ã     Emory, undoubtedly our coolest and most fashionable volunteer, arrived at the site in a spanking Lexus!  While this may be a great chick mobile, it’s no backhoe, which is what we really needed!

 The team was so efficient at completing the Benbow St. site that we were moved to Electric Avenue to work on that project as well.  Being too efficient is a real problem sometimes. 

Just when we thought that the men in the group had escaped some true hard labour, Mr. Pat, Noel and Emory were assigned to do land filling the old fashioned way!  It would appear that Noel had never seen so much dirt or a wheelbarrow!  The guys were good at their job and loads of dirt was flying in no time!  Who knows how much Cabbage Noel will have to consume to replace all those calories!

 Thank to all the volunteers who took time to help our community!
SCOTIA VOLUNTEEERS MAKE A DIFFERENCE!