It's that time of year again! The Youth Programs department of Habitat for Humanity International is now accepting applications for its Learn and Build Experience (LBE) trips. These trips offer youth ages 16-18 an opportunity to travel to a different state or country and build a Habitat home with a family in need of decent and affordable shelter. This is an incredible cultural immersion trip where team members help build homes, meet other students who are interested in lending their hands and their voice to end poverty housing, and experience a different community. The best part about LBE is that youth who are unable to afford the $550 trip fee or the airfare to reach the destination, can apply for scholarships. I think this is one of the best kept secrets in the world of Habitat! Learn more about the program here.

The United Nations General Assembly declared in 1985 that the first Monday in October would be World Habitat Day. World Habitat Day is the one day set aside annually to recognize the basic right of every person to have adequate shelter. It also encourages grassroots action toward ending poverty housing. 

This year World Habitat Day is Monday, Oct. 6th! There a number of ways you can get involved by helping raise awareness for the 1.6 billion people in need of adequate shelter around the world. Take action by sharing the social media posts, graphics and banners created by Habitat for Humanity International for this very important day or you can also click the links below to see other ways you can get involved:

• Sign the World Habitat Day petition
• Create a prayer and petition event
• Color a pinup
• Organize a door parade

However you plan to take action, know that every post shared, every signature on the petition, every prayer prayed, every event attended and hosted, and anything else that shines a light on the need for decent and affordable shelter makes a difference. When you participate, you are using your voice to speak out for people who are living in inadequate housing in your city and all over the world.

During our Global Village trip to Cochabamba, Bolivia with Habitat Para La Humanidad, we worked on building a home with the Moya Family. When completed, the home will measure 624 square feet and cost $14,240 US. The family made a $2,000 deposit, so their mortgage will be $214 per month over 6.5 years. The couple has one son and is expecting a baby in December.

My team helped shovel, wheelbarrow and place thousands of pounds of sand, stone, brick and gravel over five work days. We moved, cut, bent and twisted countless feet of rebar that will be used to fortify the walls of the home. Each task, though at times tedious and strenuous, was a labor of love.

For our cultural activities, we toured a center for abused and abandoned children, saw a breath-taking traditional Bolivian dance performance, visited the famous Cristo de la Concordia, viewed the Habitat national office, shopped at the Main Plaza and La Cancha markets, toured the Natural History Museum and the majestic Palacio Portales.

Habitat Para La Humanidad Bolivia has served more than 50,000 families and built nearly 11,530 homes over 29 years. Utilizing Global Village teams, like ours, helps to offset their costs and increase progress on the homes. For example, our team raised almost $15,000 in funds, almost the total cost of the home, using peer-to-peer fundraising for our trip. That doesn't include the offline funds submitted by our volunteers and their supporters. Also, our team of 14 people was able to move enormous amounts of materials on the site in a short amount of time, saving the small construction staff at Habitat and the Moya Family time, money and energy.

I'd like to thank my team members Jerald, Karen, Jim, Andy, Tommy, Amy, Marci, Lori, Kate, Meriem, Ashley and Pieter for accepting the call to service and putting love into action during this trip. I'd also like to thank my supporters, especially my top donors, Bob and Roderick, for their generosity and helping transform lives in Cochabamba. Your compassion has helped make the dream of home ownership come true for the Moya Family!

Please take a moment to view my short video recap of our experience in Cochabamba.

If you can not view the video, watch it here.

I have a great update to share with team members for our trip to Bolivia - we have officially met our minimum requirement of volunteers! After almost six months of recruitment, dozens of applications and nearly 25 phone interviews, our team is now complete. We've built a team of 12 so we can build homes with two families in Cochabamba. I will continue to accept applications and conduct interviews until we reach our maximum of 15 people. 
Our team members range in age from 19 to 60+ and are from every region across the U.S. Some are new to Habitat for Humanity and our mission of building homes, communities and hope around the world and some have been on multiple Global Village trips or volunteered with a local Habitat affiliate. Each member has unique interests and skills, but all of us agree that we want to do our part in helping families in need of adequate shelter have a simple, decent and affordable home to live in. I'm so excited that we have reached this milestone and I look forward to equipping you with as much information and guidance as I can to help you prepare for our trip to Bolivia. ~ Tammie 

As a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry that builds with people in need of safe, decent and affordable housing, regardless of race or religion, Habitat for Humanity welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds.  

Habitat has more than 1,500 local affiliates in the United States and more than 70 national organizations around the world. The ministry has helped to build or repair more than 800,000 homes and serve more than 4 million people worldwide since it was founded in 1976.


Information from habitat.org