Atlanta Habitat goes beyond its borders to build

Volunteers travel to Dominican Republic April 1

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity and a crew of dedicated volunteers are heading to the Dominican Republic to sponsor the organization’s first Global Village build project, April 1-9.

Thirteen volunteers will support the project, “Let’s Build It Together for San Juan and Azua Families,” in a province about three hours from the capital city Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Alongside a working family who will live in the home, volunteers will be mixing cement or mortar and laying a foundation, installing doors and windows, painting and putting the final additions onto an approximately 300 square-foot house.

This is the first-time Atlanta Habitat has sponsored a Global Village trip—a move that was prompted by Atlanta Habitat President and CEO Lisa Y. Gordon, who visited the country with other Habitat for Humanity leaders in 2016. “We heard the call from Habitat International leadership to support this program while witnessing the tremendous need for safe and affordable housing for the Dominican people,” she says. “We see the impact that owning a quality, affordable home can have on a family in Atlanta, and we eager and honored to be able to help a Dominican family have a decent and safe place to live.”

Atlanta Habitat is collaborating with Habitat Dominican Republic, which has been developing projects in San Juan since 2002, thanks to a local church initiative in concert with the community.

For more than 30 years, Atlanta Habitat has partnered with other Habitat for Humanity International affiliates in 10 countries to build homes for families living in substandard housing. Since 2000, that work has been concentrated in Costa Rica and El Salvador where Atlanta Habitat volunteers and staff have helped to build 57 homes that provide shelter for 285 family members.

Volunteers raise funds to cover the costs of the trip and its expenses.