A Fun Group of Volunteers
 
Pictured: Kids in the village checking out the new volunteer team.

There is something to be said about the type of people that go on Habitat for Humanity Global Village build programs.  There is something unique about them.  They are adventurous.  They are passionate.  They are a hell of a lot of fun. This was my third Habitat for Humanity group this year and the group didn’t disappoint.

Our team leader, Colleen Kaleda, chose a pretty diverse group of fourteen people to be a part of the Bangalore, India team.  We had a father/son combo, two retired teachers that were former college roommates and a group of professionals ranging from a recent college grad to those that were seasoned in their professions. 

There is something interesting about the people that elect to use their limited vacation time to volunteer in a foreign country.  Our group clicked right from the beginning.  Though the work was difficult, the group stayed optimistic and focused on the reason they were there.  After the volunteer work was over for the day, they enjoyed a cold beer and discussions about the upcoming election.  I was in heaven.  I am confident that I will retain many friendships from this encounter. The group has already begun to talk about a possible reunion in 2009.

The Impact on a Village


The Habitat for Humanity staff told our group that our mere presence was going to impact the village that we working in.  In India, the caste system though fading away is still more visible in the villages than in the cities.  The executive director of the Bangalore affiliate stressed that the fact westerners were electing to volunteer hand in hand with local families would turn the caste system on its head for the time that we were there.  It might not change a societal system that has been in place for generations but it would test people’s assumptions and show inadequacy of the system.

During our first day in the village both the volunteers and the people in the village were curious of each other.  People in the village would walk by our sites and point and talk about us.  My fellow volunteers took pictures of everything they saw including the children that swarmed us to see what these strangers were doing in their town.  By the end of the week, we were a welcome part of the town and the pictures were being taken of our work and the friendships that we made with the local families.

What Did You Call Me?

Pictured: Uncle Shorieh and Uncle Sam with our site's masons during a chai break.

In India, elders are treated with great deal of respect.  As a child, I called each of my parent's friends "uncle or aunty" as a form of respect.  On our site, I found it cute that the mason called my fellow volunteer, Shorieh, uncle.  Shorieh was an experience architect and a father of two children so it seemed fitting.  Eventually, the mason started calling me uncle when he wanted to get my attention.  At first, I was honored because I thought I was significantly older than the mason   But during one of our tea breaks, the mason told me he was thirty-five.  Both he and I was surprised to find out that I was only two years older.  We laughed at the minor difference between our ages but he continued to call me uncle.  I guess the gray hair entitles me to being called uncle.

Instant Rivalry


Pictured: The Rivals- Sam and Ron Franklin.

My roommate during our Habitat for Humanity build was a lawyer from New York, Ron Franklin.  We got along quite well because we both had the same juvenile sense of humor.  Ron had looked at my website prior to coming on the trip and knew that I was a Spartan fan.  Little did I know that I would be bunking with the enemy.  As we were unpacking on our first day, he proudly pulled out his University of Michigan baseball cap.  A Wolverine in my midst!  I welcomed him with open arms.  What could I do? The MSU Spartans had whupped up on his Wolverines the weekend before on the football field, it was the only charitable thing to do .