Peace Corps Habitat Build - Part Two

Day One of the build contained the most heavy lifting – was that by design? If so, it was a good idea! On Day Two, there was still some gravel to move, but just a few feet over, so there would be room for a delivery of new gravel. I hadn’t had a chance to shovel the day before, so I did that for a while. Other people were making concrete interlocking blocks – the Lego-like innovation of Habitat for Humanity Philippines. Volunteer-friendly and consistent. I rotated in to make these for a while and almost every block I made crumbled when I took it out of the mold. I decided to stick with it, and after lunch one of the homepartners demonstrated his method, pounding the sand in. I hadn’t been packing the sand in hard enough! After that tip, concrete-block-making was fun and productive! Other people painted beams, and then some of us moved scaffolding from one part of the top floor to another – those metal poles just kept on coming!

On Day Three, all of us painted, some rafters and some stair railings. I discovered something about myself – I am a messy painter! But then again, I didn’t miss any spots. I joked (at least I think it was a joke) that the next group of volunteers would come and remove all the drips and drops I left behind. Unfortunately, one of my pairs of quick-dri pants, my sneakers, and my Christopher Lesta Southampton 5K shirt will forever have paint on them, but at least they have a story to tell. At least the paint came off of my skin after a couple of days!

We ate lunches in a canteen in the neighborhood and I discovered a new dish that I like – pinakbet, a vegetable stew. None of that nasty bitter gourd! This was mostly squash and green beans (and the teeniest bit of meat). After our last day, we hung around in the streets outside the build site for a while, talking to the neighbors and having kids run and play all around us. Two of the regular PCVs said this was their favorite part about the Philippines – the smiling people and the happy kids. It wasn’t the elaborate party that Habitat had thrown for the Japanese group, but it was just as rewarding.

I got so much out of the build – it was fun to put the group together and fun to work as a team. It was a lot of labor but nothing we couldn’t handle. I had been thinking that I wanted to do something more for my birthday – I did what I wanted to do earlier this year by traveling, but as I saw my friends back at home I realized that I’d like to do more with them as well – so I am now thinking of organizing a build in the spring in a Katrina-affected area for whoever can come. I think it would be a wonderful way to celebrate with friends!