me to we feature

It’s difficult to prepare for everything you might face in the Amazon Rainforest. So Jared Fernandez-Brown internalized any advice he could during his two-week stay in Ecuador this past May on a memorable ME to WE mission. One suggestion while the Gryphon Football rookie was at the organization’s Minga Lodge was to make sure that you don’t leave your shoes outside, as the area is rife with insects happily willing to crawl into a cozy space.

 Apparently, bringing shoes inside was no guarantee.

“One night I was leaving my room and I was going to put my shoes on,” says Fernandez-Brown, a first-year kicker/punter from Burlington, ON. “My foot felt weird when I put my shoe on so I took it out to fix my sock. I tried again and it felt the same so I held the shoe in my hand and reached inside where I was surprised to find a three-inch beetle inside of my shoe.

“I was really shook about it at the time because this is something that would never happen back home.”

Now, it’s one of many stories he has from the experience. Massive beetles aside, Fernandez-Brown won’t soon forget the life-changing two weeks he spent in Ecuador on his adventure. ME to WE is a social enterprise providing products that according to the web site, “make an impact, empowering people to change the word with everyday consumer choices.” Trips abroad to help communities are also an important part of the organization.

Fernandez-Brown first heard of the opportunity in a team meeting when Gryphon Football academic advisor Lindsay Williams was on the hunt for volunteers to make the trip. Fernandez-Brown didn’t see any hands go up immediately. But as time passed, he began to hear descriptions of the mission from previous teammates who had done it in recent years.

“The guys that went said it was the best trip of their lives and that it was an amazing thing to experience,” Fernandez-Brown says. “That instantly got me motivated to contact Lindsay to get more information on the trip. I had always wanted to go on a trip like this and give back to people around the world and I knew that this was the perfect opportunity.

“I could not pass this up.”

Preparation was new for the Gryphon rookie. This wasn’t some trip to a resort where you could lounge around. The ME to WE mission would send them to the heart of the rainforest where surroundings were minimalistic to say the least. Fernandez-Brown packed accordingly, only worrying about the necessities. He did some research on the locations he would be staying at and got the five shots he needed given the exposure to bugs and illnesses in a very different climate.

“I also had to get malaria and high-altitude pills to take during the trip,” says Fernandez-Brown. “So a lot of pre-planning went in to making sure I had everything for this trip.

 “Once we got to our first hotel in Quito, Ecuador everything hit me – I was in going to be in Ecuador for two weeks, making a change in other peoples’ lives and making our world a better place.”

From May 18 to the 31st, the ME to WE mission included trips to Ecuador’s capital, Quito, Chmiborazo in the Andes Mountains, and then the ME to WE Minga Lodge. Fernandez-Brown’s main responsibilities consisted of visiting a school in Chmiborazo to help construct a building. They made walls with bricks, mixed cement, made a garden, and dug holes for water and electricity.

The next stop was work was in the Amazon where they visited another school.

“We built the foundation for a water tower,” says Fernandez-Brown, who adds that responsibilities in both Chimborazo and the Amazon included carrying buckets of water from streams to bring to families. “So we had to but boulders inside a wheel barrow and wheel it up a slightly elevated hill and then up a stairs. With the heat in the Amazon, it was very difficult but we managed and pushed through.”

The work was hard but gratifying. Fernandez-Brown says that the connections he made will be with him forever. Those on the mission would gather nightly and discuss what they enjoyed most about the day and what they encountered.

“As the trip progressed, the things we enjoyed and the experiences we had started to become more deep and heartfelt,” he says. “I really had the chance to connect with the other university students and hear their stories on why they decided to come on the trip. I learned that a few of the people I was with had went on a Kenya trip the previous year so they had some experience.

“One of the good things about experiences like this is that we still all talk to this day because we all connected so well and made great relationships.”

Fernandez-Brown is grateful that he made the choice to go to Ecuador. He calls the experience “amazing” and loved every moment of it (maybe shoe beetle aside). It gave the Gryphon rookie a great sense of why it’s critical to get involved and help those who need it, either in your own backyard or abroad.

“Giving back to your community is such an important thing to do nowadays because we don't realize it but our community has done so much for us, providing us with better opportunities,” says Fernandez-Brown. “When we give back, it brings everyone closer together.

“I have always said that everyone in the world is just one big family. We have to help each other and those in need. That is why trips like this are a great way to give back to not just your community, but to the world we live in.”

Written by: David Dicenzo