Habitat magic: everyone can (learn to) hammer

 

Or use a tape measure or saw, or help pick up around a construction site, or cut insulation board.

When I agreed to serve as an advisor for a group of 15 St. Lawrence University students headed to Goldsboro, North Carolina during spring break to participate in Habitat for Humanity, I had two fears:

1. Could I survive the 14-hour drive in a van, and a week at close quarters…with a group of students?

2. Could I be useful?

The answer to both  turned out to be “yes.” In fact, the students and the work made the week a transformative experience.

Here’s what I learned:

1. Habitat doesn’t “give” houses to anybody.  While Habitat homes are very reasonably priced and mortgages are offered at low-interest rates, the owners must purchase the homes. In addition, Habitat home owners must contribute a lot of hours to Habitat construction projects.

2. Students who participate in Habitat for Humanity projects–whether at local sites or afar–are special. Our group looked forward to the week, performed on the site with enthusiasm and energy, and spread laughter and joy wherever they went.

3. You can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear–at least if you’re a Habitat construction site manager like Ethan or Tithal. These guys turned 70 amateurs into an effective team of carpenters and roofers. Over the five day work period, one house acquired roofing, exterior insulation, windows and doors; the other went from a muddy foundation site to a framed structure. You know more than you think you do, or you can quickly learn enough to be truly useful. I saw Ethan and Tithal train first-time-on-a-construction-site students into roofers and carpenters…maybe not ready for the trade unions, but they got the job done. No power tools. All by hand.

4. The experience made me feel grateful every moment I was there. Grateful to be of help. Grateful to meet and work with so many wonderful people. Thank you, Goldsboro Habitat!

Would I do it again? Co-advisor Taylor Silvestro, the St. Lawrence University women’s field hockey assistant coach, said it all for both of us: “In a heartbeat.”

If you’d like to participate locally with Habitat, visit this page to find an affiliate near you. If you’d like to contribute money to Habitat, visit this page.

Here’s a photo collection tracking our week in North Carolina to give you a feel for what the experience looked and felt like.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s what the two houses we worked on during the week looked like on the first day we arrived:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steps along the way during our week on the job site:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the background of the photo below, the foundation of the house we worked on. The more finished house was not one of our projects. But, note the windows piled against the other home we worked on. By the end of the week, those will be installed.

 

 

The team had to eat. Working hard, y’know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, the moment you’ve been waiting for: what we accomplished, along with the students from Virginia Tech, Delaware Valley, and Rochester…not to mention the real carpenters on the job, Tithal and Ethan. Here are photos of the two houses shortly before we left.

If you’re interested in working with Habitat, remember to check out this link to find a Habitat chapter in your community. If you’re a college student, check your campus. There may be a chapter. Or start one.