DR Exercise

I am leading a disaster recovery exercise that started last week.  A whole team of people from Europe, the USA, and India came together to work on the activity, everyone contributing and doing their thing. It is a beautiful sight to see everyone working together without ego. The final exercise starts tomorrow for this phase and will be a whole-day activity. There were no issues reported during the shift, and a lot of people were impressed and praised the team's work. This is the first time I am leading this exercise and I was exhausted last week, but came to work though logged out an hour early.

I attended a task leader training for HFH after work on Tuesday and learned several new things, such as bending steel borders and headers for doorways. The training was conducted in a large warehouse where most of the hard constructions are done, such as wood frames, and delivered to the building site where the volunteers assemble the house. Only in this country, I feel, could such an endeavor work, with community and self-organizing teams selflessly working together for the community. It was the same way in the weekend exercise, where everyone came together and did honest work.

I plan to volunteer more in HFH to learn new skills, especially to help me construct a deck and fence in my backyard. Most of the people who volunteer in HFH are retirees, and some who are builders, workmen, or journey men who are in the construction industry. These are honest, simple, and hardworking men who eagerly engage in the building activities in the warehouse and on the site, working outside in the cold of winter to get a house built for a family they most likely will never meet. I grow during these types of activities, working selflessly with my hands, learning simple skills, and giving back to the community.

I attended this weeks' Toastmaster meeting and volunteered as the timekeeper. This is another organization that is simple and constructive for self-development. I hope to remain active in both Toastmasters and HFH when I retire to keep myself busy. Social interaction, camaradeire and self-improvement are good goals to keep one engaged with the community and help one keep growing into a better person. It's only in this country I feel where there is such richness in the civic duties of it's citizens.