Building Homes – Building Friendship

This year, America’s Unofficial Ambassadors sent volunteers to Jordan as part of our Building Peace by Building Homes initiative. Volunteers worked side-by-side with local families to build much-needed housing and new friendships. Along the way, they had a chance to explore Jordan, visit Petra and engage in a host of activities designed to broaden their horizons.

Volunteers traveled to the historic town of Salt to take part in the program and returned with great stories about the partnerships they forged and the places they went over their 10-visit to Jordan.

Likewise, Habitat for Humanity is gearing up for a building excursion in Bangladesh later this year. The trip will run over 9 days from Nov. 30 to Dec. 8. Volunteers will work alongside local people, mixing mortar, carrying and laying bricks and putting up roofs. The program aims to complete 20 new family homes in Bangladesh within a week.

From Habitat For Humanity:

“Habitat Bangladesh began in 1999 and now operates in 13 locations through Habitat Resource Centers. To fight endemic poverty, Habitat Bangladesh frequently uses a “building in stages” concept—building a core living space with a family in need first, and expanding the home later as needed and as it can be afforded.

Families frequently pool their savings to build homes. Habitat Bangladesh frequently partners with other non-governmental organizations to develop new microfinance models to reach even more families. The average repayment rate for Habitat Bangladesh partner families is US$11 per month.

Habitat Bangladesh also works both to provide disaster-recovery help andto teach disaster-preparedness to lessen the impact of flooding on homes. After Cyclone Sidr affected 6.8 million people in 2007, Habitat Bangladesh resource centers produced transitional housing kits for 12 local communities. For more information on Habitat’s work in Bangladesh, visit the country’s profile page on Habitat’s website.”

VolunTourism: The Way to Travel

As a leader in international volunteering, America’s Unofficial Ambassadors is always searching for smart and innovative ways that average American’s can volunteer abroad. Enter David Clemmons, and his concept of VolunTourism. VolunTourism encourages individuals to travel in a way that allows tourists to give back the community they are visiting and gain meaninginful experiences while abroad. To really understand the idea, please check out the VolunTourist Newsletter, a fantastic source of news and information on global voluntourism initiatives, the impact of international voluntary service, and best practices in the industry. In his post, David Clemmons, founder of VolunTourism.org, praises of one of AUA’s Directory-listed programs: Habitat for Humanity’s (HFH) Global Village Program. Read on to learn about how HFH’s Jordan program has successfully combined meaningful volunteer service and community engagement with cultural tourism experiences. If building homes together with low-income families and visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World sounds captivating to you as well, check out HFH’s profile on the AUA Directory for more information about how you can join a Global Village team and volunteer with HFH in the Muslim World.