What are your personal reasons and ambitions for being involved with this project?
After traveling over Christmas last year my wife and I both felt that the backpacking experience, while very cool, was not everything we were looking for. We felt that by volunteering, even for a short period of time, we could learn more about the people and culture of the countries we were visiting as well as having a more positive impact than simply passing through. Additionally, our time on JET has been really positive and we have been very fortunate to have free time and vacation space and we wanted to use that for a purpose beyond ourselves.

Of all the charities and volunteer organisations, why habitat for humanity?
After doing some research and hearing a lot of positive testmonies regarding Habitat’s work we felt like their mandate to eradicate inadequate, poverty housing was particularly compelling. That Habitat is an established and long term non-profit presence was also attractive, we knew that they were good at what they do and that their work makes a difference. With the Global Village Project itself we are excited that as a team we will be working closely with local volunteers, staff and the homeowners themselves while we are in Bangladesh. As well, we were happy education about housing for the poor was an important part of the volunteer experience. We felt that we could learn a great deal and share some of that with those around us here in Japan, in particular at our schools. Finally, the opportunity to not only volunteer but also to donate to the organization’s work beyond our short term project was a particularly attractive element of the Global Village project.

Why Bangladesh?
We chose Bangladesh because we knew the housing crisis there to be particularly acute. As well, several team members had the opportunity to study Bangladesh indirectly during university and were interested in being able to travel there.

What do we hope to gain personally?
I can’t speak for everyone else, but I am most looking forward to learning more about life in Bangladesh and how people are affected by a lack of proper housing. It is something so basic that I haven’t often thought about the consequences of being without proper shelter, I expect that I will learn a great deal. The challenge of organizing the trip itself and of doing something constructive with the opportunities we’ve been given while in Japan is also fulfilling.

Additionally, we will be making a large donation to HfH’s Bangladesh affiliate, which is destined for building materials and administrative costs of their work. To this end, we need your support.
Please partner with us by helping make this donation. If you are interested in donating, or have any questions please email hiroshimahfh@gmail.com. Also, if you are interested in organizing or participating in a Global Village project yourself go to www.habitat.org for more information. We highly recommend it!

About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that works to eliminate poverty level housing and homelessness. The founders believed that all people, even poor people deserve to live in well built houses that help them lead healthy, productive lives. The habitat groups use the best quality materials from each local area which are reasonably priced and use good, solid building techniques to quickly create housing that will last many years.

Started in 1976, they have built over 200,000 houses, helping to shelter 1 million people in 3000 communities around the world. They work in dozens of countries throughout the world, many in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village Project gives volunteers the opportunity to travel to developing countries and help to build or renovate a home. The primary goal of the project is to educate volunteers about the housing need and to build lasting friendships among volunteers and homeowners from different communities. Bangladesh is among the poorest and most densely populated countries in the world. The need for proper housing is great; monsoon rains and flooding make the lives of those without adequate shelter very difficult.

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