Two years ago, 30 of us from Habitat for Humanity were prancing scarily along Dhaka’s freeway, which is pot-holed, shared by buses, motorcycle taxis, lorries, and thousands of bicycles. After four hours of bone rattling travel, we arrived to our guesthouse, where we would spend seven days building houses in a community. During the rocky drive, I thought a lot about this, my first, Habitat trip, and the big picture of Habitat for Humanity, which brings people from the developed countries at a great expense to poor countries to help people to get out of unsanitary and insecure conditions. However, I couldn’t help thinking about the expenses for the flight, food and accommodation: why not just simply donate this to the community? Wouldn’t the cash donation outweigh the benefits of this trip? I do confess, I was not quite certain about the purpose or the morals of this program that we were about to engage into. With such pessimistic thoughts about the benefits, I showed up--ready to carry bricks. On our fourth day, we had the foundation filled and the dirt packed. The children jumped with elation and we had our first party with the inhabitants, and that is when I came to sort out my skepticism deeming the benefits of Habitat for Humanity. I realized that this program not only supports the poor by building houses but also allows us to build benevolence and empathy. Building something with our own bare hands to better other people’s lives, I came to appreciate this great opportunity, which allowed all of us to become more humane. The trip to Bangladesh was a transformational week for everyone and I hope to lead another one soon.
Picture credits to...http://search.creativecommons.org/?q=habitat+for+humanity&sourceid=Mozilla-search#
People who have gone on trips like the HFH are much more likely to give money and time on the local level as well. And you are so right about the emphathy.
ReplyDeleteI wondered about the money as well. Think about how much money would have been raised if we donated the 30 students' plane fare. Now, what is the likelihood that would have ever happened?