POLSON – For many of us, it’s easy to forget the core values of Thanksgiving amidst the food, football and Black Friday sales closely associated with the holiday. Keeping things in proper perspective might be a little easier this year for Polson’s Lesley Dubay, 72, who has just returned home from a humanitarian mission to South Africa, which she says helped make her and her companions into better people.

“It was life changing,” Dubay says of the eye-opening experience. “I think it was the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It made me much more grateful for the things I have.”

Dubay and a group of other volunteers from western Montana traveled to the village of Potchefstroom in the northern part of AIDS-ravaged South Africa. The trip was coordinated by the non-profit organization Mosaic, which is committed to helping orphaned South African children impacted by AIDS.

The mission was led by Tom Hall, a Methodist minister from Sanders County who takes teams of volunteers to the same village every other year. The goal of each visit is to work side-by-side with South Africans to build homes that will replace mokukus – shanty-like 10 x 10 structures of corrugated tin, “with no running water or toilet, no floor, no bed, no nothing,” Hall says.

“We work to build a house in about 4 or 5 days and we carefully screen people who are getting in, (because) part of what we do is we don’t give anything away. (Families) come in and if they don’t have a job, (Mosaic) helps to develop skills and training and then help find markets for the goods they produce,” Hall said, describing the overview of the project that aims to foster independence and self-sufficiency among villagers. Recipients of homes are required to take in foster children who have had their lives affected by AIDS. Each success story bolsters Mosaic’s vision of creating an economic base for impoverished South African communities like Potchefstroom.

Dubay and Hall helped to construct a home that eventually went to a mother who took in two brothers whose parents had died of AIDS-related illnesses.

“I can’t tell you how many times they told us ‘thank you’,” Dubay said of the overwhelming gratitude shown by villagers.

Despite their unbelievably challenging circumstances, “They are such hopeful people… and so community-minded,” Dubay said of South Africans, noting that, unlike Americans, they spend much of their time outside of their homes, socializing with neighbors.

Hall said that the group also specifically blocked in time to play with orphaned kids who otherwise would not receive love and attention from adults, with nearly an entire generation of older South Africans wiped out by the AIDS epidemic.

Dubay, who had been to Africa once before, said that this trip has left a much better taste in her mouth.

“I’m really glad I went back this time because it put a lot of that uneasiness to rest… because I was so upset about what I saw the first time,” she remarked.

“In the period that you’re there, you do see someone who’s life has been totally, totally changed and there’s something really gratifying about that,” said Hall.

Dubay agrees. “We worked really, really hard, but it was worth every single brick we laid,” she said. She already plans on going back next year.

What happens in Africa doesn’t necessarily stay in Africa, as Hall is developing plans for what he calls “South Africa Part II” in which he and a team of volunteers will help to work on some homes in Sanders County.

“For some people they have to get over there, 11,000 miles away, to see something that’s changing lives and then you can leverage that back over here,” Hall says of the inspiration for the project on the homefront.

Those interested in learning more about the relief efforts coordinated by Mosaic are encouraged to do so online, or to contact Tom Hall.