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Idea Was Set In Concrete

A Scout travels to the Dominican Republic to earn his Eagle honors.

Photo courtesy Holz family

Andrew Holz said he especially enjoyed teaching songs to the children at the elementary school, which his church, Nativity Catholic Church in Brandon, helped to build. “The kids were so energetic and happy to see us,” he said.

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 22, 2007

Brandon - Brandon - He could have simply followed in the footsteps of fellow Boy Scouts in Troop 89 at Nativity Catholic Church in Brandon and found a worthy Eagle Scout project in his own back yard.

However, just as Andrew Holz, 15, was tossing around ideas for a project to earn the highest achievement attainable in the Scouts, he learned that the Life Teen Ministry program he's involved in at Nativity was planning a youth mission to the Dominican Republic.

For more than 20 years, Nativity members have sponsored mission projects in La Victoria, a village about 30 miles east of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.

The first week in June, members of the youth group were headed to the impoverished town to help refurbish the homes of needy families. The mission included replacing the dirt floors of homes and other buildings with concrete slabs because. During downpours that plague the country in the rainy season, the floors wash away and destroy families' belongings.

The mission piqued Holz's interest. The Brandon High School student knows a thing or two about concrete. His grandfather, Norbert Holz Sr., and uncle, Norbert Holz Jr., are pool and general concrete contractors. And his father, Bryon Holz, worked with his father and brother for seven summers. What the teen didn't already know about mixing, pouring and smoothing concrete, he knew he could depend on his family to teach him.

But first he had to get the approval of the Gulf Ridge Council of the Boy Scouts of America for his rather unorthodox overseas Eagle Scout project.

"It required very precise planning, more than the normal Eagle Scout project," said Holz. "And they needed more documentation — a lot of pictures because they couldn't go and inspect it themselves."

Supervision of his project was no problem, however. Not only did his grandfather and uncle plan to accompany him, but his father, who is on the religious emblems board of the Gulf Ridge Council and serves as assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 89, agreed to be his photographer.

Holz intended to raise enough money to pour three concrete slabs and sent out letters to local businesses, family friends and relatives asking for donations. He headed to La Victoria with $1,500 in hand.

But once in the Dominican Republic, Holz discovered that $1,500 goes a lot farther than it does back in Brandon. Not only was it enough to cover the cost of three concrete slabs, but Holz was able to use the money to help rebuild a home that burned down while he was there, as well as pay for paint, tools and other supplies.

His mother, Leesa, and older sister Sarah had been on missions in La Victoria. However, Holz said he was still unprepared for the degree of poverty he saw there.

"Going there and seeing it for yourself, it's much different than seeing it in pictures," he said. "There were children whose legs were as skinny as my arms. The houses were just wooden boxes where they'd sleep. They'd cook and live outside. It was a real eye-opener. It makes you appreciate what you have so much more. I don't waste anything now or take anything for granted."

At the same time, Holz said, he was impressed by the faith and spirit of the people he encountered in La Victoria. Throughout the city, he could see signs of his church's largesse, including teens sporting Jesuit High School T-shirts and little girls wearing the familiar plaid skirts worn by Nativity Catholic School students.

He and 24 fellow Nativity teens visited the La Victoria Mission that his church is responsible for building, starting with a nutrition center for young mothers and babies; a medical center; missionary schools and an auditorium named for the former Nativity pastor who founded the mission in La Victoria, Msgr. James Lara.

"The kids were so energetic and happy to see us," Holz said. "They treated us like celebrities. It made me feel humble."

Although Holz doesn't speak Spanish, one of the most poignant moments for him needed no words. The group had completed the concrete pad for the modest house of a grateful family, and there was enough cement left over to build a back-door ramp. When the ramp was completed, Holz placed his hands in the wet cement, and each of the family members followed suit.

"They were so grateful," said Holz, a Scout for nine years. "Their quality of life is immeasurably improved by concrete floors."

Despite the lack of hot running water, the snakes and tarantulas lurking in the shrubbery and the back-breaking work in humid, often-rainy conditions, Holz said he'd do it again in a heartbeat.

"It was one of the best experiences of my life," he said. "It was life-changing."

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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