...the dream builder

Building homes, building dreams

 

By JORDAN C. TAN

February 27, 2011

 

 

The volunteers at work (photo by EDWARD LLANES)

MANILA, Philippines – There are lessons learned in school and some that are better learned outside. This I found out when I joined a group of youth volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization that rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of homeowners (known as home partner) families, volunteer labor, and donations of money and materials.


Our destination: A Habitat site in Calauan, Laguna.
 

It all started a few days before the build.  At first, I thought it was quite ironic that I’d be going to help build homes with other volunteers because the week prior, my school had organized the same activity in the same place but I was not able to go (and to think that I already had work gloves and hard hats for my brother and myself).
 

On the road to Calauan, I kept thinking about the tasks that might be assigned to me and was even questioning myself if I could actually build a house.
 

On arrival at the site (we were among the early birds), we were introduced to the youth council organized by a group of dedicated youth whose aim is to be able to gather 1,000 youths from different schools, colleges, and universities to help out in building for Habitat.
 

The parade of volunteers soon began and I saw Senator Chiz Escudero; Bibeth Orteza, writer and wife of Carlos Siguion-Reyna, who wore a pair of different colored espadrilles to symbolize her being a cancer survivor; Feli Atienza, wife of TV personality Kim Atienza; Cristalle Belo, daughter of dermatologist Vicki Belo; Yolanda Hadid, the current girlfriend of musician David Foster; Felix Ang, president of CATS motors; Jim Fuentebella, Corporate Marketing VP of Max’s Chicken; Mons Romulo-Tantoco, daughter of Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, actor Derek Ramsay, and many more.
 

Ayala Land Chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala led the pack of volunteers and we were assigned to work on Houses 9 and 10. The day began with us moving the Concrete Interlocking Blocks, CIB for short, from the outside to the middle of the house.  The CIB blocks look like Lego pieces and this made it easy to determine if you were attaching the blocks correctly.  Habitat for Humanity is the first in the country to be using these blocks in their construction.  Moving the bricks was surely a back-breaking task and we worked like a production line passing the blocks from one point to another until it reached the middle.
 

After moving the blocks, we made the base walls of the house.  It was very fun to see the blocks interlock with one another as we erected the walls.  We then proceeded to the station where the job being done was grouting.  This was the task I enjoyed the most because it was fun to stuff the CIB’s interlocking holes with grout and make sure that they’re completely stuffed.
 

Under the heat of the noontime sun, there we were, interlocking CIB blocks and grouting. Our respite came in the form of a lunch break of Max’s fried chicken and Krispy Kreme donuts.


As builders for a day, I realized that young as I am, it made me very happy to know that I was able to give back to the community in my own little way.  I also realized that community service doesn’t have to be very big and grand for it to have an impact on people’s lives.  We were only able to build a part of the house but this little act of ours already had a very big impact on another person’s life.
 

Second, I realized that the youth is indeed the future of a nation.  The youth council who took part in the build proved this.  Third, I realized that a construction worker’s job is not an easy one.  Upon experiencing first-hand the kind of work that they do, my perception of them has changed a lot.
 

Finally, I realized that there are some people who are truly dedicated to doing their part for the community.  There was a foreign volunteer whom we saw who still worked to finish the house he started even though everyone was happily having their lunch.
 

I enjoyed building homes and giving back to the community.  I also enjoyed the chance to bond with my brother, my cousin and the people from Manila Bulletin. I also interacted with a lot of people whom I have never before met in my life.  And finally, I also learned a lot, not only technical stuff like building homes but also realizations that greatly changed my perception of things and helped me become a better person.This made the experience in building for Habitat truly worthwhile and unforgettable.  I wish that in the future, I might be able to go back there again and continue my service to the community.