HFHI Nepal hosts Australian GV team in Morang

HFHI-Nepal recently completed the hosting of a Global Village team from Australia on a 10 day build in Morang district, eastern Nepal. The 11 member adult team was based in Itahari district and worked in Salakpur, Morang on the construction of two houses.

Home partner and volunteers working together

Despite the hot and humid conditions the team worked very hard, undertaking a variety of work including bamboo collecting, cutting and weaving, mud plastering, cementing and foundation filling. The program was greatly supported by partner organisation, Nari Bikash, who helped manage the program and cultural activities and provided a delicious lunch each day. It was great to also have six local volunteers work together with the team each day.

“I loved interacting with the home partners and the rest of the community. I had a great experience learning the language and getting my hands dirty and seeing the product of our hard work.” Brianna, GV Team Member

Home partners, Sabita Nepali and Bibi Khantung and their families welcomed the team into their communities and their hearts and despite the language barriers, worked together with the team to help realise their dream of a new house. It was rewarding for the team to help finish Sabita’s new home and to hear how much this meant to her to have a decent place for her family to live. Bibi expressed: I was so happy when the team came, I did not expect so many people to help work on my house. It was so hot but they worked so hard. I will always remember them and how their sweat helped to build my dream home.

mixing mortar and passing

The team were also warmly welcomed by the social welfare and preservation society who shared their culture including some local dancing with the team, and also the local school whose visit was a highlight for the team. The team also took the opportunity to visit the view point at Bhedetar and visit the local bazaar. The women also had Nepali outfits made and looked great at the house dedication in all their colours.

The final day was full of emotions as the team were thanked by the community and home partners and Sabita’s home was officially opened. Following one final dance the team sadly departed, taking with them many new experiences and memories. The team returned to Kathmandu and completed their trip with some well deserved rest and recreation in Chitwan National Park, Pokhara and Kathmandu.

“Engaging with the locals was a profoundly moving experience. I learnt so much about communication with others and the experience has altered my perceptions and approaches towards people of other cultures.” Joel, GV Team Member

The Team

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HFHI Nepal hosts American School of Dubai GV Team in Jhapa

A Habitat worked by the team

Another group of enthusiastic youth volunteers from Dubai joined the HFHI Nepal Global Village Team from April 3- April 9 2008 in Satasidham VDC, Jhapa. The program was held in partnership with Sahara Nepal. There were twelve students were from American School of Dubai along with two chaperons.

The houses were made of bamboo wall, cement pillar, mud/cement plaster and CGI tin roofs .The volunteers worked on cutting and splitting bamboos and weaving bamboo walls. They also helped in mud and cement plastering for the wall. All in all, the team had a fruitful time working with the local volunteers, home partners, Sahara staffs and the HFHI Staffs.

Volunteers splitting bamboo, weaving bamboo wall and enjoying filtering sand for plastering

The teams learnt a lot apart from just building houses. Sightseeing and shopping in Kathmandu, local school visit in Jhapa and playing soccer game gave them a new experience about Nepal. The team also spent some days of rest and recreation in Chitwan and experienced the natural heritage of the country.

The entire team associated with Habitat had a truly rewarding experience. Sam Steinke, a team member, said "Today ,these home partners are entering in new house, being in a new house means starting a new life, new house may definitely bring the changes in their life ,we are so thankful to habitat providing us this opportunity to be a part of this life changing experience”

One of the home partners, Bishnu Chaudhary expressed his gratitude. he said, “I am so lucky because I got support from the volunteers coming from many countries of the world, If they had not helped me it would take more than twenty days as well as I might to pay more than four thousand rupees to complete this house, I am grateful to the Team because they finished all the work with in five days.”

The Team

Last of all, it was yet another wonderful experience. HFHI Nepal is waiting and working for more programs like this in the coming days.

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HFHI Nepal hosts Shanghai American School GV Team in Itahari

HFHI Nepal organized a Global Village Program for Shanghai American School from March 22-March 29 2008. 17 students and 2 teachers participated in the program which was held in Itahari Municipality, Sunsari. The program was held in partnership with SOS Children’s Village.

Volunteers enjoying weaving bamboo wall
The team helped to build 3 houses in total. Local volunteers from SOS, the HFHI staffs and home partners worked together with the team and created a splendid team based environment to work in. These houses are made of bamboo wall, cement pillar, mud plaster and CGI tin roofs. The last day of house dedication was an emotional moment where the home partners and the volunteers shared their gratitude and experiences.

Team Leader, Jacqueline Meijar shared, “It was an incredible time for us to get knowledge on cutting and splitting bamboo as well as weaving wall with bamboo. We got the opportunity to learn about the culture, community and the life of the people. We are taking not only these learning but also the love and care of the people to whom we met.”

One of the home partners, Tek Narayan Chaudhary also expressed his happiness on the occasion. He said, “One day my daughter (she is 15 yrs old) told me, her friends used to take her in their houses but she couldn’t bring them in her house because she did not have a good house”, This was great challenge for me. SOS, Habitat and the global village team took part on carrying my burden of building a good house, now my daughter can bring her friends in her house without any hesitation”

Home Partners and team working together

Apart from the daily work, the team also got a chance of cultural exposure and sightseeing in some remarkable places in Kathmandu. The team also enjoyed interacting with the local students of SOS. It helped them learn about the Nepali community which was a complete new environment for them. It taught them a lot more than just building houses.

GV Team member Jonathan Kao reflected “It was a great trip, and I really became more aware of the issues in the world around me. Seeing the conditions others lived in helped me be thankful for the privileges I have that I normally take for granted.”

The program’s success was due to the efforts of many people, with special thanks to SOS Children’s Village for their organization and excellent support before and during the program.

The Team

This Global Village program has opened new doors to HFHI Nepal. With the help of such programs, HFHI Nepal gets new opportunities to build houses and improve lives. The organization is looking forward to more participation from teams from around the world.

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