Today was Dedication day, the day when we say our goodbyes to the families and hand over the keys to their new homes. Our group has gotten to know Maria, her family and all of her neighbours really well over the past week. We have seen that Maria is an extremely friendly and welcoming person, who always has a smile on her face. When we got off the bus today all the kids swarmed us shouting “Amigo’s, Amiga’s!” and doing the special handshake that they taught us this week. Every one of them had hugs for us too, it was so adorable.
Once we had all greeted everyone, we took the groceries and dishes to the house, and set up the new home for Maria. We then all gathered outside to start the celebration. The group gathered around the family and anyone who wanted to say something was given the chance to. Going around the 
group people offered words of encouragement to the family along with many thank you and farewells. There were quite a few tears involved in all this. We said a prayer for the house and family, and after this the family went inside to look around. When they came back out Maria told us how grateful she was, and to show us this she had prepared a meal for us, her family and all their friends as well. It was a delicious meal of chicken soup!
When the time came to leave, getting back to the bus was a pretty drawn out process. None of us wanted to leave, and it was very hard to do so because everyone of us knows that we may never see these amazing people ever again. =(
It is life changing to see how much these people love each other, and how caring and welcoming they are. I am so happy to have met them.
~Katie, a Hero Holiday Participant
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