Family members of Gagas Farms Inc. travel to St. Lucia to help build homes for the poor
By Cathy Kostuch
Cliff and Carole Gagas of Gagas Farms Inc., Stevens Point, Wisconsin, recently returned from a mission trip to Gros Islet, St. Lucia. Organized by the Good News Project, the annual trip gathers volunteers who spend two weeks at a time building homes for the poor.
It is the third time Cliff and Carole have participated, and Carole states, “It’s rewarding to know we are able to help facilitate in providing shelter for deserving families on this island.”
This year, Cliff’s sister, Marilyn Wierzba, and their dad, Donald Gagas, also joined in to help.
Together, they made up four of the 16 volunteers who built three houses in St. Lucia between January 19 and February 2. The homes they constructed are simple, 12-by-16-foot, two-room houses painted in bright colors as is the tradition of many island homes.
The construction consists of five windows, two doors and a partition wall down the center. The homes do not have electric or running water, though they can be added by the owners at later dates.
Each house is provided a set of bunk beds that are made by the Boys Training Center, a group home for troubled boys to which the Good News Project has donated tools for its woodworking and welding shop.
