In February 2006, Anthony and Benjamin McCarthy, with the support of McCarthy Concrete, traveled across the globe with the non-profit group Heart to Heart to Africa. After the flight, they spent eight hours in a van traveling through the African desert driving past zebra, gazelle, and giraffes. They also saw some of the original tribesman of the Masai people. When they finally arrived to the small sugar cane farming village of Uriri, Kenya, they were greeted by a crowd of children with banners waving and curious village people. As the children broke into song and the elders of the village joined them, the crowd began to jog along the side of the vans, guiding the caravan down the road to the Shepard’s Home Orphanage. Once in the orphanage, the group met all the children. There were over one hundred children orphaned by AIDS who came to live with Symprose. Symprose is the woman who started Shepard’s Home out of her house several years earlier when three abandoned boys showed up at her door one day. Anthony and Ben, along with the rest of the members who traveled to Kenya met all the locals in a ceremony where everyone one brought a thank you gift (a bag of 3 or 4 eggs) for coming to help the orphanage and the village.

The next several days were spent mixing concrete by hand from a pile of rocks and sand to pour floors in the children’s sleeping quarters, kitchen, and dining area which had previously been dirt floors. Tony and Ben learned the local craftsmanship with the help of some tradesman from the near by villages. After the floors were done they had metal window grates made locally and installed them using traditional mud and stick construction. Between McCarthy Concrete and Heart to Heart, enough money was raised to have a well installed at the orphanage. This was the most important part of what was done on this trip. Clean water is a life force in the remote villages of Kenya, as in most of Africa. The well is shared with most of the villagers as well. Tony and Ben also spent some time playing with the children and helping the elder staff cook and prepare meals. With the help of Heart to Heart, the team was also able to bring medical supplies, new shoes, and new beds for the children. On this trip there were interactions with people and events that made everyone involved examine their own lives, to see the strength and hope of people who have nothing still finding happiness is uplifting and inspiring.