Habitat for Humanity Bloggers Build

Last week, I woke up early in the morning and met up with fellow bloggers to be a part of Habitat for Humanity Bloggers Build.  This was one event I was most excited about.  Being able to be a part of something that would help fellow Filipinos plus having the opportunity to share this through my writing is truly fulfilling.

We were brought to Habitat for Humanity Philippines’ Pasig City Urban Renewal Project site.  One building was finished while the other one was still under construction.  I was excited!

We listened to the talk of the people behind Habitat for Humanity Philippines first to understand what the organization is and what its goals are.  Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP) is a non-profit organization whose main advocacy is to provide dignified shelter for the community.  In the Philippines, we have a deficit of 4 million houses.  HFHP wants to make a difference in that aspect.  How?  Through 3 things:

• BUILD affordable, decent, and durable homes
• CREATE responsible communities
• SUSTAIN impacts by empowering individuals

HFHP is one of the 90 countries affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International based in the USA.  Established in 1988, HFHP has already served 34,600 families, 174 communities built, 308 school classrooms and community centers completed.  Their current projects include: BayaniJuan sa Southville 7 (Brgy. Dayap, Calauan, Laguna), Karisma Ville (Brgy. Panghulo, Malabon City) & Pasig City Urban Renewal Project – Brgy. Pinagbuhatan, Pasig City (this was the one we visited).

It’s not just HFHP or their members who can help, you can help too!

• volunteer to build homes alongside HFHP homepartners in need.
• sponsor a house or donate construction materials.
• sponsor a full shelter kit for disaster victims.
• become a foundation member.

The bloggers, including myself, were able to be part of the construction work that day.  It was truly fun and heartwarming too!  2 hours of hardwork was all worth it, I didn’t feel how tired I was.  I was smiling all throughout and was really giddy hahaha!  Just the thought of knowing what this project will ultimately do for many families, I couldn’t contain my happiness.  If you or your friends wanna do the build, sponsor a house or become a member of Habitat for Humanity Philippines, you can contact them, I posted their contact details at the end of this post 🙂

In the build, we were doing the same tasks as the construction workers.

• The 1st thing I tried was putting together those steel bars by connecting them with a wire.  It was hard, I was watching them demo the task 3 times before I finally got it.  The wires also gets entangled with our gloves, it makes it a bit harder too.

• 2nd was passing around the wet sand and empty pails.  Since the wet sand was heavy, it makes more sense for 3-5 people passing it around like a ‘bayanihan’ rather than have one person bring it by walking through underconstruction land.  The task is definitely completed faster with less effort, very efficient.

• Lastly, making hollow blocks.  I’ve always wanted to learn how to make one.  I enjoyed this task too much that I was able to make 5 hollow blocks in less than 30 minutes.

I now appreciate even more the hard work of our construction workers.  It is definitely not an easy job, imagine doing many of those tasks for 6 days a week, 8 hours a day.  That’s hard work, literally.

After lunch, we were able to meet one of the beneficiaries of Habitat for Humanity Pasig Project.  A very cute father and son.  The kid was posing while I was taking pictures of him, sooooooo adorable!  The father is working as a messenger while his wife is working as a sweeper.  They were chosen as one of the families who’ll own a unit at the Pasig site.  With such opportunity, the family will need to pay Php 1,500 per month for 5 years and will pay about Php 2500 per month for the next 5 years, an even higher fee per month for the next 5 more yearts.  It will take them 15 years before they can finally own it.   It’s not for free but those families are given opportunity to own a decent home.  Soon, Habitat for Humanity Philippines will also establish livelihood programs for those who need resources to survive.

What a day!  I was feeling good the whole day just because I was part of the HFHP Bloggers Build.  I hope I was able to help in a way by participating 🙂  It’s just amazing that each and every block you create is going towards something that will ultimately help many families.  And at the end of the day, it is what we do for our fellow men, and our fellow Filipinos that will tell us just how successful and how much a blessing we have been in our lives.  I am extremely thankful for this experience.

This is us, see the happy faces?  Hope you can also take part too.  Do contact Habitat for Humanity Philippines and help create a world where everyone has a decent place to live in 😀

——————–
Habitat for Humanity Philippines
Unit 26A, 26th Floor, PET Plans Tower, #44 EDSA Guadalupe Viejo, Makati City, Philippines
(02) 897-3069
info@habitat.org.ph