Unity in Diversity: A Habit for Humanity in Paraguay

If I told you that a group of 13 people from very different places, all with completely different backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, and values were able to work together seamlessly, communicate effectively, and develop lasting friendships all in nine days, would you believe me? No? Well, neither would I. However, vacationing with a purpose with the organization Habitat for Humanity, a special group of 13 people to include myself did just that. More often than not, when people think of diversity, they concern themselves with the challenges it brings. But, as Maya Angelou once said “….in diversity there is beauty and there is strength” (n.d.).

This group consisted of nine women and four men, all of which departed from different points of the world. The different points of departure were as follows: Canada, China, California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Washington, and Chicago. With everyone departing from different parts of the world, arrivals to Asuncion, Paraguay were between Thursday and Saturday. The Saturday evening once the entire team had arrived we had a meet and greet dinner at a local restaurant. Informal introductions were done amongst each other and discourse began right away as we walked from the hotel to the restaurant. Everyone trying to get to know each other with general questions, probing questions, and simple conversation. In getting to the restaurant we realized our Spanish skills weren’t as great as we thought since the restaurant personnel spoke solely Spanish. However, we had one teammate that spoke Spanish really well, as it was her first language. She gladly helped us with our orders and we proceeded with the evening. The following day after a brief from the Habitat for Humanity coordinators we had a dinner to get to know the HFH personnel, as we would also be working with them. At this point, we were sharing stories with each other, joking, laughing, etc.

Monday we finally began the projects we came there for and that was building two houses for two separate teams. The team leader split the group into two teams because the houses were at different locations. Upon receiving our tasks, we dug straight into work….literally; we actually had to dig up the perimeter of the house, as well as a septic tank and cesspool. Throughout the week, we got more and more comfortable with each other while working our tails off. Some of told jokes, sang, danced, told stories, we all allowed each other to be ourselves and feel comfortable doing so. We all had different strengths and weaknesses so we pushed each other and acknowledged the differences by working in a manner that complimented the differences to make it work. Being a Marine I am slightly competitive in nature, therefore, before the projects began on the first day I initiated a little competition insinuating that the team I was on would finish faster. At the end of every workday, each team would compare their progress all in fun and games because we all enjoyed the work and each other’s company regardless of how far we got. Eventually, we named the teams “Team Fun” and “Team Work”, my team being “Team Fun” because we sang, danced, and laughed so much throughout the workday. We even had a made up cement dance, for when we were making cement.

In the end, we realized that even with all our similarities and differences, one thing we do share is our passion to help and desire to uplift and encourage other people. Our group functioned so well because we brought different strengths and talents to the project, we were the definition of functional diversity. As noted by Coutts, Gruman, and Schneider, “functional diversity enhances group effectiveness even further…” (2012).

Our group brought diversity on many different levels, gender, age, race, culture, etc. Every single person brought something unique to the group as we’ve all had completely different life experiences, that brought different insight to fulfilling tasks. For example, one teammate spoke fluent Spanish, which helped us tremendously. A lot of the teammates were into their 40’s, therefore, having plenty of experiences, some even with construction, helped.  I think we made such a great team because we allowed each other to feel comfortable in our differences. In the end, though it had only been a week, we were sad to see each other go.

I got this tattoo when I returned from Paraguay. The symbol is an Adinkra symbol, which is a part of the West African culture, namely Ghana, where my ancestors were from. The symbol means, ‘Unity in Diversity’. I got it because of the strong positive impact each person had on me and because I thought it was absolutely amazing how we all brought something unique to the table but made it all work as a team. The F at the bottom and top represent “Fuego Familia”, which was an inside joke to the team.

 

 

References:

Coutts, L. M., Gruman, J. A., and Schneider, F. W. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 comment

  1. Temeka M Lytle

    What a great blog! Habitat for Humanity does great work around the world. It sounds like you had an amazing experience. I love that you highlighted the team worked so well due to a shared passion for helping & encouraging others. Since experiencing a wonderfully blended team atmosphere, what suggestions would you give to an “average/everyday” team? These groups include co-workers, teammates, and even family members.

    It’s often easy to form a great team when everyone is focused on one specific goal. However, that is usually not the case. Each individual comes in with his/her own motives, experiences, and plans. For example, an office may work together to meet a deadline, a common team goal. Nevertheless, a promotion may be the immediate goal for one employee and he/she aims to outshine the team. Simply making it through the day can be the goal one tired overworked employee focuses on. Team productivity is no longer a concern. As illustrated by your Team Fun, each individual within a group brings strengths and weakness. The success of any group will depend on acknowledgement and balance of each.

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