Rural teens help repair homes of their neighbors

Rosa Gebs of Huger could not sleep. She tossed and turned, her 75-year-old body yearning for a few more hours, but anticipation and joy kept her wide awake. She said she felt like a child on Christmas Eve except it was the beginning of June.

Unable to wait any longer, she got up at 5 a.m., and by 7:30 a.m., two young men arrived on her porch ready to repair her home free of charge.

Less than two hours later, 12 teenagers accompanied by five college-age mentors arrived at her home.

They brought paintbrushes, hammers and nails, but for Gebs, the best thing the teens brought was a positive attitude. She said it made her happy when she saw them working and smiling.

"If I was rich, I would pay them," Gebs said, clasping her hands together. "They are God-sent."

Gebs is one of the beneficiaries of the Striva Community Youth Service program. The program brings rural youths from Huger and Pineville together with local community members in need.

For two weeks, 24 teens and 10 college mentors repair roofs, fortify foundations, replace tiling, insulate walls and paint two homes. This summer, the students worked at two rural Berkeley County locations, St. Stephen and Huger.

Gebs said her home needed various repairs, including new bathroom tiles, a fresh coat of paint and a better roof. Without the help of the teens participating in the program, she did not know when the repairs would happen.

The United Methodist Relief Center, a nonprofit based out of Mount Pleasant, sponsors the program. This summer marks the program's 11th year.

According to Pat Goss, executive director of the relief center, these two weeks of volunteerism aren't just about repairing homes. It's about giving students tools for success.

"We're helping them understand the need to stay in school and effect change in their own community," Goss said, "I feel like construction is just the byproduct of something more."

Funding for the program comes from small grants, various foundations and donations. Gebs' received roughly $12,000 worth of home repairs, thanks to the program.

According to Goss, this is why the program continues each summer, because it affects so many lives in so many ways.

Jalen Brown, 15, who attends Hanahan High School said he felt inspired and driven to help even when he worked on Gebs' roof in sweltering summer heat.

"That lady in this house goes to my church," Brown said, referring to Gebs, "I want to help her out and give her a good place to live."

The proximity makes the project more meaningful for the teens because it serves as a reminder of what they can do, Goss said.

"Imagine riding down the road after fixing a roof and saying, 'I put that roof on that house.' Imagine the pride you feel knowing that you accomplished a goal that you may not have thought was possible until you tried, " Goss said.

Sharneisha Joyner, 14, who attends Cainhoy Elementary/Middle School, said this project is unlike any of her other summer plans.

"I have a lot of other stuff to do over the summer, and those things are basically focused around bettering me. But when I'm doing this, it seems a lot different because I'm helping someone else. I'm not focusing on myself," Joyner said.

This sense of altruism resonated with Jermaine Young, 14, who also goes to Hanahan High. He said the project made him want to help more.

For Brown, it shifted his focus to what he considers important.

"Instead of always whining and not helping others, it makes you reach deep down inside and help others to the best of your ability," Brown said.

The program also emphasizes the benefits of a college education in a subtle way. College-age mentors volunteer and work with teens, but more importantly, they talk with them.

"People open up the more that you're around them, and we've been talking about school, what we like, what we dislike, our favorite music and all sorts of things. This kind of trust just comes with familiarity," Hillary Taylor said.

Taylor, 20, of Columbia, attends Furman University and volunteers as a mentor for the program. Even though her job is to motivate the teens participating in the program, she said they've motivated her as well.

"We're affecting them as much as they're affecting us," she said, "This whole program is really all about building character and realizing who you are, who you want to be and who you'd like to be."

Taylor said she saw changes in the teens' attitude and their ability to work together after only two days.

This comes as no surprise to Goss. She said the program has a high success rate. Many of the past participants went on to college or received technical or professional training. One past participant, Marcus Howard of Huger, went on to play in the National Football League, now with the Tennessee Titans, after playing football in college.

"These kids need this opportunity to realize that they have some innate ability within themselves to do whatever they set out to do," Goss said. "When teens realize just how great their potential is, it makes all the difference in the way they look at themselves and at their life."

For Gebs, the program made a difference in her home and her life.

"I tell you, I don't have the words to express all of my gratitude to have such a happy set of people doing this work willingly with a smile on their faces," she said. "There really are good people around willing to help, but you just got to find the right people."

Reach Caitlin Byrd at cbyrd@thepostandcourier.com or 937-5916.