When Kathryn Willett goes to work everyday she doesn't know what to expect.
As an HRP Community Response Constable in Dartmouth she is always ready for anything, though.
"The people I meet have given me so much. I have been fortunate," she said. "And now it is time for me to give back."
In March 2013 Willett and her 12-year-old daughter Ysabella will be travelling to the Maasai Mara region of Kenya for 10 days.
The purpose of the trip is to dig wells, plant trees and build schools and hospitals in other parts of the world that need our help.
But for Willett, taking her daughter to Africa is about more than being briefly immersed in a different culture while participating in community
development programs.
"I grew up in a large family and my Dad always had us out doing things together like planting potatoes. He was a family man and he was always doing things for other people."
Willett's father died in February and since then she has been examining her life in a new way.
"I always wanted to go overseas and after Dad passed I began to examine my relationships with people. I want this trip to not only be our way of giving back, but a lifelong lesson for myself and my daughter."
She said she has already seen a change in Ysabella since they began fundraising toward reaching the $7,000 needed for the trip.
"We are learning together. Now Ysabella is turning off unnecessary lights in the house and is aware of what it is to consume too much."
Ysabella was interested to discover how they will be taking bucket showers in Africa and expressed her feelings to her Mom in a unique way.
"She asked me why we always keep the water running here when we take a shower," said Willett. "That is huge and a great beginning."
Willett says she wants her daughter to know that by giving that one chance to someone it can be the beginning of a better life for them.
She said she sees it at work and through the legacy that her father has left.
"Sometimes it only takes one small gift to change the course of a life," she said. "I have seen it happen many times in my own personal and
professional life."
Willett and her daughter have signed up for the trip with "Me to We", a partner company of the children's rights charity Free the Children.
To learn more about the Me to We organization, go to www.metowe.com/trips/kenya.
