WOMEN BUILD PROJECT

A Habitat volunteer talks with a group of Indian women.

A Habitat volunteer talks with a group of Indian women.

 

The build site

IndiaWomenBuild

This trip to India is a very special Global Village build.

For starters, this isn’t just one Global Village team going to another country to build with local families and volunteers. We will be one of several GV teams – from many different countries – going to Bangalore. This means we’ll get to build alongside many other volunteers from those countries, too. Should be a rich experience. 

This large combined volunteer force also means that instead of just working on one or two houses, we’ll be “blitz building” many houses at once. We don’t know yet exactly how we’ll be divided among house sites, but we will share that with you as soon as we are told!

Finally, this is also a special project because we will be part of a major initiative for Habitat India. Habitat’s national program there is in the midst of a campaign to serve 50,000 families by the end of 2011. As part of that campaign, Habitat has launched a series of Women Build events – bringing together women of means to partner with low-income women in need of safer, improved housing.

Our GV team – women and men alike! – will be part of this drive. In fact, our first build day on this trip will take place on March 8 – International Women’s Day. This day is especially important in countries where women don’t have full rights or status. We will be able to join in a celebration of the day on this trip. This large-scale Global Village project that we’re a part of will involve working with women-head-of-household families. We will also get to work alongside – and spend extra time with – these women who have formed savings groups in order to partner with Habitat to build their new homes. 

These women have formed microfinance groups in which they have collectively pooled their earned resources. That pool can then be used to advance loans to member women for various needs, including housing. Our trip cost covers many things; it also includes a donation to Habitat India and much of that money will go to support this Women Build project. Volunteer labor, local and donated building materials and donations from teams such as ours help keep mortgage costs low for these new homeowners.

As with all Habitat projects, this is not a hand-out; it is a hand-up. Habitat partners with families as long as they meet three criteria: they have a need for improved housing; they are able to pay a no-profit mortgage; and they are willing to partner, contributing sweat-equity hours working on their own house and the houses of others. In addition to new houses, the aim of this project is to increase the dignity and social capital of these women, many of whom are widows or single mothers living in slum areas that make them vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. 

During our time in Bangalore, we will have the privilege to get to know these women better. We hope to have the opportunity to: 

  • Work alongside local women while building. 
  • Take a poverty-housing tour of a slum community in which many of these women live. 
  • Participate in a study session on self-help groups and microfinancing to understand the how the models work.
  • Interact with experts on self-help groups and microfinance.
  • Spend time with these women as they meet and operate their group.

We will, of course, also have some free time in the evenings to sight-see and enjoy some down time. We will also have some free time for fun activities over the weekend in the middle of our trip!