Come and build, come and learn
Take a week or two to volunteer on a Global Village trip at a Habitat for Humanity project overseas. Work with local volunteers and craftsmen, at their invitation, helping them to tackle poverty housing in their neighbourhood through renovating or building homes.
You don’t need any building skills as most of the work is manual labour. You could be digging foundations, laying concrete floors, building walls, plastering or decorating, mixing cement, or doing carpentry. A master builder on site will show you what to do, using local materials and construction techniques, and you don’t need to do anything you feel uncomfortable with.
And you will learn first hand about the issues that people in the developing world have to contend with: Get to know the locals as you work side by side with them, and learn about their way of life, the challenges they face, how they deal with them, their dreams for their families. Helping them to build or renovate a home is a really practical and tangible means of giving someone an opportunity to rise above poverty, and a chance to achieve their dreams.
It’s not all hard work! There’s time to relax, play with the local children, exchange stories with the community elders, watch a traditional dance, or visit a school. Many volunteers return home really enriched by their experiences, and better equipped and more motivated than ever to help make poverty housing a thing of the past. It’s our hope that you’ll want to join them.
We have a number of Open Teams running through the year that you can join as an individual. So – choose your trip, and help an overseas community eradicate poverty housing, for good.
“I think people here work hard and make good with what they have. They don’t waste materials at all and the end result is very special to see. Team spirit is fantastic!” - Global Village volunteer
“Our Construction supervisor came from the township, which made it much clearer to me how they live and how you can get stuck in poverty without opportunity.” - Global Village volunteer
“Having served with a number of British charities overseas, I can tell you that your organisation is second to none. What’s more, your choice of leaders couldn’t have been better” - Global Village volunteer