Written by Allie Bishop
Africa has been on my bucket list since before I can remember. I've always been an animal lover, particularly big cats, so I was excited to safari; but building in Kenya was an eye-opening experience.
Habitat for Humanity in Kenya has a beautiful vision for community development that was created in partnership with the village members. I was so glad to be invited into that vision and able to work alongside the community to build homes and learn about their innovative building techniques.
The community that we built in was amazing. The members of the village met our vans on the first day and danced us in. While I was operating on a couple hours of sleep, I attempted to dance with what rhythm I could keep. They spoke with such excitement in their welcoming of us and they were all smiles.
We soon broke out the shovels and started digging the toughest pile of “gravel” I've had the pleasure of digging in. It felt like half the day was spent digging gravel and the other half was mixing concrete, with a little bit of large stone tossing mixed in. This was exhausting and the local masons put us to shame! I just remember watching Nicholas, one of the local masons from the village, mix so aggressively in slide-on shoes to get the job done. We poured the foundation of the home. We were exhausted, but this set a good tone for the rest of the week. Many stones and wheelbarrows of gravel, sand, and mortar later, we had the shell of a house and a latrine built.
The work we did was some of the most physically exhausting work I've done with Habitat, but I remember smiling and laughing through all of it. Working with a community where everyone was willing to pitch-in to help Esther, the homeowner, was truly amazing. As someone who has led many volunteer groups on build sites in Greater Cincinnati, it was a rewarding and helpful experience to be a volunteer in a new context.
The home we were building was smaller than most homes in the United States with no electricity or running water. While modest, it was a major improvement from her current living situation. It made me look quite hard at what I dwell on and define as my “needs” at home. The differences in our resources and privileges were obvious and gave me a deeper understanding of the scope of our global work at Habitat for Humanity. The interaction with the people and the community is what will stick with me the most. It's so easy to get bogged down in the details of the day and lose sight of the vision that everyone deserves a decent place to live. Homes everywhere provide a sense of security, accomplishment, and are a place to make memories. I certainly hope Esther and her family make many great memories in their home. We certainly made great memories building it.
From the hard physical work to the improved relationships with my coworkers and even with the mental, emotional wear of taking in such a different culture and way of life, I will forever be grateful for the Global Village experience in Kenya. Oh, and of course, seeing some lions and cheetahs!
If you're debating on going on a Global Village trip, just do it. You'll gain a new perspective, learn about a completely different culture, and have time to reflect on our vision and mission.
