View from a Volunteer Team Leader: New Year, New Project.: A s most of you will already be aware, I am no longer (although I hope the door will always be open) a team leader for Habitat for Humanity....
So take a look at this tears projects with Developing World Connections and The Fuller Center for Housing. Rajasthan and Nicaragua, here we come......
Tuesday 19 January 2016
New Year, New Project.
As most of you will already be aware, I am no longer (although I hope the door will always be open) a team leader for Habitat for Humanity. Therefore the title of this blog. "View from a Habitat team leader" is now kind of out of date. I am not sure if I can change it but I will try.
I now lead for a Canadian based organisation by the name of "Developing World Connections" DWC for short. They were kind (or daft) enough to take me on as a TL. In August last year (2015) You can read about my first encounter with DWC in a previous blog: "A lot has happened in 2015"
I am also a leader for "The Fuller Center for Housing" again the details of my encounter with this organisation are in the above blog from 2015. I will report on my next assignment for them (Nicaragua Nov 2016) at a later date.
So here I am, its 2016 and my project for DWC is well under way. I have enough team members to make the trip "all systems go". I could do with some more if anyone is interested!!.
We are embarking on a trip to Rajasthan. Our objective is to help the local villagers and farmers with a water harvesting project.
Volunteers work in villages around Bhinder, a community on the outskirts of Udaipur known as the Venice of India, with our host partner Sahyog Sansthan. We will work with subsistence farmers and their families in the construction of water harvesting structures, like small sub-service dams, water barriers and well and land partitions. These new water sources allow farmers to grow two crops per year instead of one, which enables them to provide for their families and earn an increase income by selling their produce.
Crazy that it should be called Venice when they have so little water but hey, they can dream. Located in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan is India’s largest state that is home to more than 68 million people. High levels of illiteracy, insufficient water sources, inadequate health care and extremely limited access to social services are pervasive problems.
So you see, we have a lot to do. The trip commences on May the 7th and no doubt I will back on the blog after we return. I apologize for not adding to it whilst in country, but I just don't get the free time to do so, its as much as I can do to post a few Facebook entries.
Whilst I am in Delhi I hope to grab some time to spend with the "Robin Hood Army" if you are not familiar with them, take a look at their web site. http://robinhoodarmy.com/ The Robin Hood Army is a volunteer based organization that works to get surplus food from restaurants across to the less fortunate people in cities across Pakistan and India
There will be stories to tell, so watch this space.
I now lead for a Canadian based organisation by the name of "Developing World Connections" DWC for short. They were kind (or daft) enough to take me on as a TL. In August last year (2015) You can read about my first encounter with DWC in a previous blog: "A lot has happened in 2015"
I am also a leader for "The Fuller Center for Housing" again the details of my encounter with this organisation are in the above blog from 2015. I will report on my next assignment for them (Nicaragua Nov 2016) at a later date.
So here I am, its 2016 and my project for DWC is well under way. I have enough team members to make the trip "all systems go". I could do with some more if anyone is interested!!.
We are embarking on a trip to Rajasthan. Our objective is to help the local villagers and farmers with a water harvesting project.
Volunteers work in villages around Bhinder, a community on the outskirts of Udaipur known as the Venice of India, with our host partner Sahyog Sansthan. We will work with subsistence farmers and their families in the construction of water harvesting structures, like small sub-service dams, water barriers and well and land partitions. These new water sources allow farmers to grow two crops per year instead of one, which enables them to provide for their families and earn an increase income by selling their produce.
Crazy that it should be called Venice when they have so little water but hey, they can dream. Located in the Thar Desert, Rajasthan is India’s largest state that is home to more than 68 million people. High levels of illiteracy, insufficient water sources, inadequate health care and extremely limited access to social services are pervasive problems.
So you see, we have a lot to do. The trip commences on May the 7th and no doubt I will back on the blog after we return. I apologize for not adding to it whilst in country, but I just don't get the free time to do so, its as much as I can do to post a few Facebook entries.
Whilst I am in Delhi I hope to grab some time to spend with the "Robin Hood Army" if you are not familiar with them, take a look at their web site. http://robinhoodarmy.com/ The Robin Hood Army is a volunteer based organization that works to get surplus food from restaurants across to the less fortunate people in cities across Pakistan and India
There will be stories to tell, so watch this space.
Friday 6 November 2015
View from a Habitat Team Leader: Paypay Philippines Before and After
View from a Habitat Team Leader: Paypay Philippines Before and After: You may remember that I lead a Habitat team to Cebu in The Philippines in December 2014. Well I just had to post this picture provided by my...
Paypay Philippines Before and After
You may remember that I lead a Habitat team to Cebu in The Philippines in December 2014. Well I just had to post this picture provided by my very dear friend Jeremiah, He is the coordinator out there and without him this would not have happened.
When we arrived on site for the first time there was nothing other than the layout for the new homes, all strung at the bounders so we knew where to dig. or should I say "break rock".
So that was day one. It is now November 2015 and section 1 is complete. That is some achievement considering they have had to contend with more typhoons since we left.
Top left is day one, bottom right is a families home. A long awaited home but so worth the wait.
Many thanks Guys, Awesome team.
When we arrived on site for the first time there was nothing other than the layout for the new homes, all strung at the bounders so we knew where to dig. or should I say "break rock".
So that was day one. It is now November 2015 and section 1 is complete. That is some achievement considering they have had to contend with more typhoons since we left.
Top left is day one, bottom right is a families home. A long awaited home but so worth the wait.
I have included a couple of other pictures to remind you of the great team and the wonderful time we had there. If you haven't read the full blog, then you will find it in the list on the right hand side of this page.
The following pictures are dedicated to my team and those that followed us so as to complete phase one, well done all of you.
Thursday 5 November 2015
View from a Habitat Team Leader: A lot has happened in 2015
View from a Habitat Team Leader: A lot has happened in 2015: I know it has been some time since I last posted a comment, but after returning from The Philippines I was astounded to find that I could no...
A lot has happened in 2015
I know it has been some time since I last posted a comment, but after returning from The Philippines I was astounded to find that I could not get another project with Habitat for 2015.
It would appear that due to policy changes within the organisation, they were cutting down on "open" trips and concentrating on "closed" trips and offering far fewer destinations or available projects. I have my own view on this but I just hope that some day soon they will return to the core values and set Global Village back on a track to giving a hand up, not a hand out.
That said, I am not one to give up. I love engaging with people to work with those less fortunate than ourselves. I revel in working with local people in developing countries and helping them to make a better life for themselves.
To that end I contacted "Developing World Connections" a Canadian organisation that was happy to take me on-board as a team leader.
I felt that I should join a team and learn a bit about this organisation before putting a team of my own together. So I joined another ex-Habitat leader on his project in Guatemala for DWC.
In August I headed off to Guatemala to join the team from Canada:
The object was to build a kitchen for and organisation involved in educating the local kids and also feeding them which is an important element of there operation. "Open Windows". But alongside that we installed eco-stoves in about 20 homes in a local village. Not only that but some of the team ran an eye test clinic fitting children and locals with glasses donated by a Laser Eye clinic in Canada. Whilst others ran craft projects with the children.
The kitchen was to be built in the grounds of the school and will be used to prepare and cook the meals for the children. They are currently prepared under a makeshift cover in the open yard.
But with the help of the team, the foundations were dug
And walls were built. This is an ongoing project and more teams will be in to complete what we started.
As for the eco-stoves. These were to replace the open fires that the locals use to cook on. The home owners were suffering from smoke inhalation and in fact the children suffer even more and sometimes die as a result. This picture is typical of the stove system used.
The families were tested on a Lung Capacity Machine and the results recorded for comparison when tested again after 6 months of using the new eco-stove
The new stoves come in sections and are installed by two people as they are made of concrete.
But once installed and the family are shown how to use them, they are clean, no smoke in the house, less fuel used which either saves a long trek to collect wood or money if they purchase their fuel.
Oh yes and there is always trouble on site wherever you go.
The two weeks passed so quickly. We had taken time out to climb a volcano, visit a very large market and chill out at a thermal spa. But best of all, we had made a difference to the lives of local families. And that's what it is all about.
Whilst traveling we came across a lake that had been flooded the previous year by a hurricane and the water level never went back down as it is a lake without an exit to a river. Those stranded by the rise in water had to move inland.
At the end of the project the team headed home to Canada. But yours truly hadn't finished his travels.
I headed to Nicaragua to meet up with a very good friend and ex-Habitat leader "Mateo" He lives in Costa Rica running his mission to help the poor of Honduras as well as helping another NGO in Nicaragua.
We had agreed to meet in Nicaragua so he could introduce me to the guys there who were trying to eradicate poverty housing and working on a project near Leon. This organisation turned out to be The Fuller Center For Housing. An Organisation set up by Millard Fuller the original founder of Habitat for Humanity. And most of the staff here were ex-Habitat members.
Over two days I visited the project they are working on and met some of the families who will benefit from their efforts.
Needless to say, I was being set up. Mateo knew that I could not let something like this pass me by. So following a telephone conversation with the CEO of The Fuller Center to clear up a few queries I had about their operation. I became a team leader for them too.
As they say, one door closes and two others open, or something like that.
So 2016 sees me with two projects in hand. The first is for Developing World Connections and will be in Udaipur Rajasthan India in May and the second is for the Fuller Center and will be in Nicaragua in November/December. Full details are available from my profile page: http://teamleader.myfreesites.net/
After leaving Nicaragua I traveled back to Costa Rica with Mateo for some chill time before heading home to the UK.
I will try to be more diligent with my updates from now on so drop in from time to time if you can.
It would appear that due to policy changes within the organisation, they were cutting down on "open" trips and concentrating on "closed" trips and offering far fewer destinations or available projects. I have my own view on this but I just hope that some day soon they will return to the core values and set Global Village back on a track to giving a hand up, not a hand out.
That said, I am not one to give up. I love engaging with people to work with those less fortunate than ourselves. I revel in working with local people in developing countries and helping them to make a better life for themselves.
To that end I contacted "Developing World Connections" a Canadian organisation that was happy to take me on-board as a team leader.
I felt that I should join a team and learn a bit about this organisation before putting a team of my own together. So I joined another ex-Habitat leader on his project in Guatemala for DWC.
In August I headed off to Guatemala to join the team from Canada:
The object was to build a kitchen for and organisation involved in educating the local kids and also feeding them which is an important element of there operation. "Open Windows". But alongside that we installed eco-stoves in about 20 homes in a local village. Not only that but some of the team ran an eye test clinic fitting children and locals with glasses donated by a Laser Eye clinic in Canada. Whilst others ran craft projects with the children.
The kitchen was to be built in the grounds of the school and will be used to prepare and cook the meals for the children. They are currently prepared under a makeshift cover in the open yard.
But with the help of the team, the foundations were dug
And walls were built. This is an ongoing project and more teams will be in to complete what we started.
As for the eco-stoves. These were to replace the open fires that the locals use to cook on. The home owners were suffering from smoke inhalation and in fact the children suffer even more and sometimes die as a result. This picture is typical of the stove system used.
The families were tested on a Lung Capacity Machine and the results recorded for comparison when tested again after 6 months of using the new eco-stove
The new stoves come in sections and are installed by two people as they are made of concrete.
But once installed and the family are shown how to use them, they are clean, no smoke in the house, less fuel used which either saves a long trek to collect wood or money if they purchase their fuel.
Oh yes and there is always trouble on site wherever you go.
The two weeks passed so quickly. We had taken time out to climb a volcano, visit a very large market and chill out at a thermal spa. But best of all, we had made a difference to the lives of local families. And that's what it is all about.
Whilst traveling we came across a lake that had been flooded the previous year by a hurricane and the water level never went back down as it is a lake without an exit to a river. Those stranded by the rise in water had to move inland.
At the end of the project the team headed home to Canada. But yours truly hadn't finished his travels.
I headed to Nicaragua to meet up with a very good friend and ex-Habitat leader "Mateo" He lives in Costa Rica running his mission to help the poor of Honduras as well as helping another NGO in Nicaragua.
We had agreed to meet in Nicaragua so he could introduce me to the guys there who were trying to eradicate poverty housing and working on a project near Leon. This organisation turned out to be The Fuller Center For Housing. An Organisation set up by Millard Fuller the original founder of Habitat for Humanity. And most of the staff here were ex-Habitat members.
Over two days I visited the project they are working on and met some of the families who will benefit from their efforts.
These families currently live in shelters made from corn sticks and plastic sheeting. Employment is virtually non existent and most of the men are part time fishermen doing whatever they can to try to support their families
The family bellow will be benefiting from the next build project which will start in November 2015.
And this is a typical Fuller Center house.
Needless to say, I was being set up. Mateo knew that I could not let something like this pass me by. So following a telephone conversation with the CEO of The Fuller Center to clear up a few queries I had about their operation. I became a team leader for them too.
As they say, one door closes and two others open, or something like that.
So 2016 sees me with two projects in hand. The first is for Developing World Connections and will be in Udaipur Rajasthan India in May and the second is for the Fuller Center and will be in Nicaragua in November/December. Full details are available from my profile page: http://teamleader.myfreesites.net/
After leaving Nicaragua I traveled back to Costa Rica with Mateo for some chill time before heading home to the UK.
I will try to be more diligent with my updates from now on so drop in from time to time if you can.
Thursday 22 January 2015
View from a Habitat Team Leader: Disaster Response trip to The Philippines
View from a Habitat Team Leader: Disaster Response trip to The Philippines: The article below was constructed following an interview between myself and HfH. It was published by Habitat for Humanity and appeared in t...
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