India Builds!! - The start....
Trip Start
Oct 29, 2006
1
5
Trip End
Nov 05, 2006
Mumbai,
India
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Big dreams!...but that was what my Habitat for Humanity JWCP project in Lonavala, India was all about... In 7 days that I was there, I saw the dreams of a 100 families come true..the dream of safe affordable housing, running water, sanitation, electricity was now a reality! Witnessing these life changing moments and working along side with the new home owners all week has been a humbling and renewing experience - knowing that I played a small part in breaking the cycle of poverty for these people makes giving my time and money worthwhile.
Every year ex US President, Jimmy Carter and his wife lead the efforts of Habitat for Humanity in publicising the pressing need for decent housing in poor regions across the world.
Jimmy Carter speaks
For a week, they toil alongside thousands of volunteers and new home-owners to build houses and form communities. Volunteers and home owners provide the sweat equity and the money pouring in from volunteer registration fees and corporate sponsorships helps fund construction materials for the building. Home owners only become rightful owners after paying off a small interest free loan via monthly payments for a period of 5 years. This money goes into building more homes for deserving and needy families...a self sustaining cycle is created.Arriving at the JWCP worksite on 29th October for the opening ceremony, the scale of the event was obvious! - 2500 volunteers, over 100 support staff, 250 drivers and vehicles to ferry volunteers from their lodging to the worksite, food and drinks to energise all these people..not to mention the logistics required to ensure construction material and tools for a 100 houses!! It wasn't until every single person assembled under a big white tent for the opening ceremony did the ernomity and magnitude of what we were attempting to do struck me! - The energy, the vibes, the electrifying buzz, the blaring trumpets and the beating of the drums....I couldn't wait to get started!
Opening ceremony
Many first time volunteers like me, arrive at the site of a Jimmy Carter Work Project (JWCP) on Day 1, completely green! With no prior construction experience and hardly ever having done any physical labour, I had no idea what to expect. Still, everyone around me seemed really confident - experienced volunteers told stories of their JWCP builds from 1992, Habitat staff rushed around with construction manuals briefing house leaders on finer points, bags of cement, stacks of tiles and cement blocks had been carefully laid out in front of every twin house, bright blue barrels of mineral water stood out every 100 yards, safety instructions were blaring from the loudspeakers....there was a job that needed to be done!!
It seemed incredulous that at the end of one week, this buzzing worksite would be transformed into a village of one hundred homes, a school and a community centre!
