I’ve always wanted to travel. However, being a single, young, female makes travel a bit difficult. Plus, I was always working, never had money, and no one else seemed to share my desire—nay, need—to travel and discover the world. Not just the tourist destinations either. If I went to France, it would be more than just the Eiffel Tower. Rome is more than the Coliseum. Life is more than just waiting in lines to look and not touch or experience. Then I discovered Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat for Humanity is an organization of volunteers who build houses alongside families in need. My first Habitat trip was in February 2015. Before I left the country to do some labor-intensive philanthropy, I decided to ease my way into it. I chose to go to Kauai. This way if something went wrong while I was learning the ropes and the whole Habitat process, I would at least know the language.
Kauai was a dream. It was everything you imagine Hawaii to be. Although the build was slightly different than I imagined. The house was a three-bedroom for a single couple. It takes a few months for a house in Kauai to be built, and as the length of the trips vary from one to two weeks, it takes a few teams to get one completed. When our team arrived, the house was nearly finished, so we had various odd jobs such as digging, painting, installing doors, trim work and the like. We had a great time, usually ending the workday at 3 p.m. to go to the beach and have some island fun. Unfortunately the following team finished the house, so we were unable to be a part of the key-passing ceremony, but I was ready to continue my exploration of this organization, and the world.
I went back to work to save up for the next trip in May: Macedonia. I figured since I was going to be in Europe for the first time, I had better make the most of it. I went to Switzerland first, and met up with my new friend from the Hawaii team, who happened to be in Germany. We explored Zurich together and waited for my flight to Macedonia.
Arriving in Macedonia, I met a new team I was to be a part of. That is a great part of this program. You get to meet like-minded people who you now share a life bond with. Everyone is there for the same purpose, so you have at least one thing in common, yet everyone is so diverse.
My first group was a mix of old and young, and this new group was mostly young, and a mix of experienced and novice. My roommate was from Poland, which was exciting. We got along great and had fun trying to pronounce things in our respective languages.
The build was different in that instead of a house, we were working on an apartment complex. The family who we worked alongside during the building would be sharing one apartment with two generations of family.
This standard of living was clearly different than in Hawaii. As was the building material. It was fun to learn how to saw the light concrete bricks they used with a handsaw, and pickax a packed dirt wall. No power tools here.
Our cultural activities to discover Macedonia were also different. We had a wonderful history walking tour through both Ohrid and Skopje, the capital and city where a certain Mother Theresa was born. There was also a walking tour through a gypsy community. The food was the best I’ve ever had (especially the cheese!), and the people were so welcoming, I almost wish I’d stayed a few extra days. I chose, instead, to continue on to Greece, then back home to save up for trip No. 3.
As 2015 came to a close I returned home from that third trip, which was to Cambodia. This is the trip that changed me. This was the trip that fulfilled my preconceived ideas about what Habitat does.
I went to Hong Kong first. My tradition, it seems, is to travel to one country for me, one country for Habitat. I chose Hong Kong because I’m a huge Disney fan and wanted to visit Disneyland Hong Kong before traveling on to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
I arrived a day early and met my new roommate. We hit it off instantly and became inseparable. We also met up with another team member and set off to explore Pub Street, a very popular destination in Siem Reap. This trip was full of fun and adventure. I tried new foods (tarantula legs, anyone?), met great people, saw elephants, swam in a waterfall, and fed crocodiles. However, none of these things were the best part of my trip to Cambodia.
The work here was, again, much different. The villages more primitive. The people much less privileged. The meaning of privilege has also been changed in my mind. For instance, I’m privileged simply because I have an indoor toilet.
Yes, while we did finish two homes for two incredibly needful families, we also built 10 outdoor latrines. The villagers didn’t have any place to “go” before we got there. They would walk a few feet from their homes where they lived and ate and slept, pop a squat and … well you can fill in the rest. They weren’t aware of the hygiene issues until people would get sick. Not to mention the dangers of going out into the tall grasses in the dark with snakes lurking nearby.
The people we helped had next to nothing. Some had a roof over their heads and some livestock and a small patch of rice paddies. Others had less. Some had nothing. We watched as they bathed (half-clothed) using well water. We watched as they cried, telling us their stories of poverty, alcoholic or missing husbands, children dropping out of school to work. We watched as they cried, thanking us for the little we did.
This was the trip that changed me. Changed who I was. Changed how I saw the world. The world I live in. The world they live in. They are the same worlds, yet vastly different. They work 10 times as hard as I do just to survive. And still many don’t survive.
My trip to Cambodia is the one that made me decide to lead my own trip so I can help others change the way they view our world. So maybe they, too, can see that they can make a small difference. A small difference to us is a giant difference to others. You can throw money at any charity. But how do you know who you are helping? I can honestly say those families’ lives were made better because of my contribution. I love Habitat for Humanity because I don’t just know I’m helping, I get to see it firsthand. I get to see the very families whose lives are changed. I can’t wait to show everyone else.
Contributor Sydney Asencio is a Santa Maria resident and daughter of Editor Shelly Cone. She is leading a Habitat for Humanity team in 2016. For more information contact her at syasencio@yahoo.com.
This article appears in Jan 14-21, 2016.
