Jill’s House: Athletes team up to build hope in Mexico

I’ve always considered myself somewhat handy. Maybe not as handy as my dad or my husband, but for a girl, I’m pretty handy. I can screw and hammer things together when we buy something and actually quite enjoy doing it.

So when I got an email from a complete stranger who connected with me through LinkedIn, asking if I was interested in helping build a house in Mexico for a family in need, it piqued my interest. Of course that was after I Googled the guy, whose name is Guy East, and the organization he runs, which is called Hope Sports.

Guy created Hope Sports with the idea of having professional athletes gain perspective outside of their sport and use their influence for a greater purpose.

I knew this type of opportunity was right up my alley. I love hanging out with other athletes, I like hands-on learning and I like to be a little adventurous, so once I had a phone conversation with Guy, I was on board for a trip to Rosiarto, Mexico.

READ MORE: Jill’s House: Curling on an Olympic-sized hangover

Rosiarto is a small town on the very west coast of Mexico. It is just over the U.S.-Mexico border, about 60 kilometres south of San Diego.

So off I went to Mexico with 24 other athletes. While they were mostly American, there were also athletes from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and two fellow Canadians, one of whom is one of our biggest competitors on the ice – two-time Scotties champion Rachel Homan. Our other Canadian representative was Heather Moyse, two-time Olympic gold medallist in bobsleigh with Kaillie Humphries.

Our goal was to build a 20-foot-by-20-foot house in less than two days with the guidance of professional builders. The only thing that was done for us before we arrived was the cement foundation.

On day one, we met the family whose house we would build. They are the Diaz Gomez family, who comprise seven people, including five kids, all living in a house smaller than my garage and sleeping on two queen-sized beds.

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When I had a chance to look inside the old home, I was in tears. To think that so many people lived in such a small, dirty, floorless, plastic-roofed house was heart-breaking. I was so happy to be lending my hands to build a new little house for them.

After getting an introduction to the building process, we hammered and built walls, nailed siding, built a roof and started putting up pieces of drywall. Although we worked with everyone at some point, Heather, Rachel and myself did a lot of work together and had tonnes of laughs along the way.

Who would have thought that Rachel and I would be teammates one day, but we certainly came together, along with everyone else, to build this great little house for the Diaz Gomez family.

On Day 2, we finished the drywall and cut and nailed the trim. Others shingled the roof, went shopping for groceries and some furniture and installed a toilet and a shower.

READ MORE: Jill’s House on GlobalNews.ca

Then, I was a blubbering mess again at the end of the day as we all gathered in a circle, passed around the keys to the house and said a few words to the family. There was not a dry eye in that circle, including the family themselves, especially little Emilio, who is 10 years old.

Once the family entered their new home by themselves and closed the door, we could hear Emilio absolutely sobbing from happiness about his new home.

It was an emotional few days that resulted in some amazing new friends, even greater appreciation for my home and my life and an opportunity to teach my daughter how we can give back.

Before I left for Mexico, Camryn and I went through her box of stuffed animals to pick out some that she could send with me to give to the two youngest kids. I wanted her to know that other kids don’t have toys, or clothes or a nice home. She was really excited to pass on her fake furry friends, so I made sure to take pictures of the little kids with her animals to show her when I returned home.

Having this experience is certainly at the top of my list of highlights that have been presented to me since winning the Olympics, and I am so grateful. Our team of athletes bonded on a greater level than athletes normally do, to the point that we seriously talked about coming together to build a home each year through Hope Sports.

I love the idea and want to keep lending my hands to giving hope both far away and here at home.

Jill’s House is Canadian Olympic gold-medal curler and Winnipeg mom Jill Officer’s blog.