Ursuline Senior Builds Homes in Costa Rica Each Thanksgiving

Entering their sixth visit, the Tinker family now leads a job site

Ursuline Academy senior Corinne Tinker will wake up on the Saturday before Thanksgiving in Costa Rica, put on job site clothes, and then take a 30-minute bus ride to Pavas, just like she has for the last five years.

Once in Pavas, she, her family, and about 150 volunteers will get to work building houses.

This is the Tinker family’s sixth year spending the weekend before Thanksgiving building houses with Youth With a Mission: Homes for Hope, which finds families in need of shelter and provides the supplies to build homes. Corinne says the nonprofit typically selects low-income families with children as the recipients of new homes.

“It’s definitely an amazing feeling,” Corinne said. “It’s kind of eye-opening, especially the first time, where you don’t know what you’re expecting. You just see people living in poverty.”

The Tinkers got involved in these trips after being invited by two families Dad is friends with and learning the impact they could have on an impoverished community.

After gaining some experience, the Tinkers were promoted to site leaders, meaning they lead a group of volunteers — about 30 people per house — toward completing a 30-by-30-foot build. Youth With a Mission lays the concrete down ahead of their arrival to provide ample construction time.

Some job duties include building walls, installing a roof, and adding furniture, electricity, a stove, and other essentials.

The number of houses built among the group fluctuates depending on the year, but it tends to be around five in two days.

Corinne said many families they build homes for have four generations living in one house.

“It’s definitely different to see how other people live,” Corinne said. “They’re also just the kindest people; they make so much out of what they have, and (it’s) definitely empowering to show that people make the best out of their situations.”

Day two of construction concludes with a key ceremony for the volunteers to give the new homeowners their keys and say a blessing over them.

“It’s just a very emotional moment connecting everyone together to the family, and … I love going,” Corinne said. “It’s probably my favorite part of the year.”

The trips prompt Corinne to think about how fortunate she is, she said. 

“They’re sleeping on (the) ground,” Corinne said. “They don’t have a lot of food. They’re just not getting the essentials of basic living, and it’s just really sad to see, and it’s also just a nice experience to know that slowly, we’re just making people’s lives better.”