Inspired by the stories about TRIP from a close friend, Amalie and her brother Kristian decided to take the plunge and joined Team #4 in December 2007. The experience meant a great deal to them– and their time spent together deepened an already strong family bond. For Amalie the meaning of the experience came from the emotional rewards of helping a family realize their dream of having a functional home, learning what daily life is like for these families and becoming part of them. “This level of insight is not offered by other experiences. There is so much to be gained by joining TRIP and the gang in Sri Lanka.” Kristian loves to travel and found that volunteering for TRIP brought him a much different experience than just backpacking around developing countries.  “You are away from the tourist spots and close to real people. And while it may not feel like you’re helping, you really are. Every day you see immediate results as you help build homes with the people who will live in them.  Being there with my sister really drove home how good life is here in Canada and how, as members of a global family, we should help those in need.” Amalie was so inspired by the experience that she went back  in April 2009 with Team #5 and both she and Kristian returned to Sri Lanka as part of Team #8 in 2010 and are planning to go back to help with the school April 2012.

ROGERS  -  Danielle, Krista and Jared: Team 8 April 2011

Danielle, Krista and Jared had the opportunity to work on the 120-year-old school that TRIP is completely rebuilding to serve 120 local poor children. They made a huge contribution to the significant amount of work we accomplished and formed strong bonds with the local labourers, teacher and students. Unquestionably one of the most meaningful aspects of the trip was having the opportunity to travel to a developing country and personally deliver a service with so much impact on other lives. Danielle, Krista and Jared were supported on their trip by their managers at Rogers Wireless. As communicated  to TRIP by the Director of Dealer Sales, Ontario: Thank you for allowing a few members of our team to participate in such a wonderful opportunity. In speaking with them, the most common thought was "a life changing experience". We are proud of them and pleased to participate.