#Meetourvolunteers – Trina Godfrey

Trina is a Global Village team leader from Bermuda. She and her husband Nigel, both originally from the U.K., have a family of 5 children. Trina became involved with Habitat by encouraging her older sons to join GV builds and as soon as her youngest child was old enough to be left she finally fulfilled her long time wish of joining a GV team herself (thanks to Nigel agreeing to “hold the fort” back at home for 3 weeks!). Inspired by that first trip to Botswana, she returned home and applied to train in the U.S. as a team leader.

Since 2008 (or 2004 if you count fundraising in Bermuda for the GV trips my sons participated in through the local church).

1) For me it is all about the families, especially the children. It’s hard to pick a favorite of course but a young boy named Gonzalo stands out because after bonding with him for just one day on a stove build I was lucky enough to return to the same area and visit him a year later. The fact that Gonzalo remembered me and gave me a warm hug was a very special moment.

2) Participating in a Mayan ceremony was privilege I will never forget. As the fire was constructed our field coordinator did a wonderful job of respectfully explaining the symbolism of each element and then left us to immerse ourselves in the experience as the fire was lit and the spiritual leader (Ajq’ij) prayed in his local dialect.

3) Attending the kite festival at Sumpango for the Day of the Dead celebration. This is a colorful spectacle not to be missed with the artistry of the beautiful kites and the symbolism of the cultural event. A tour of the crowded cemetery reveals the strength of family bonds and surprising joy of the occasion as families bring picnics and children fly kites from atop the family crypt.