Photo By Maj. John Quin | Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 23, based in Fort Belvoir, Va., watch...... read more read more
MORALES, Honduras – When the Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 23 were ordered to Honduras, they knew their missions were to build a clinic and school.
The Navy engineers took on a third building mission – building friendships with the local children, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Tynita Russell of Philadelphia.
“The kids were the best and the hardest part of this mission,” Russell said. “Every day, when they came up to you, you wanted to stop and play. But we had to complete our mission. It’s hard not to fall in love with them.”
On June 26, at the ribbon cutting for the school, the closeness of the sailors and children was evident to all in attendance.
When the approximately 20 Seabees who’d worked on the schoolhouse arrived at the worksite, the children greeted them like rock stars. Some of the children shouted out the names or nicknames of particular sailors. Others exchanged high fives.
Despite the language barrier, friendships began forming on the first day of construction in April.
“It’s really easy to connect with kids,” Russell said. “When we pulled up the first day, they had already picked mangoes to give us.”
The Seabees returned the favor by handing out candy and small presents to the children.
“That’s the one thing that being here for so long really pushed through,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class LeAundra Toney, of Suitland, Md. “There is a language barrier, but we found other ways to communicate.”
The Seabees and children used signs to get their points across. While two of the sailors spoke Spanish, others tried to learn some key words and phrases. The children remembered each sailor by a particular characteristic or action, Toney said. The children remembered him for his version of the Carlton Dance from the TV series, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”
The little girls particularly liked spending time with Russell and fellow female Seabee, Petty Officer 2nd Class Karen Anislag.
“They really took to us,” Russell said. “I think it was empowering for them to see women working the jobs we were.”
The overall Beyond the Horizon-Honduras mission is scheduled to end in early July.
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| Date Taken: | 06.28.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 06.28.2012 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 90759 |
| Location: | MORALES, HN |
| Web Views: | 152 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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