Building Across Borders

A bright, beautiful and relentless sun greeted 11 volunteers who traveled to the Dominican Republic to help build and repair homes. Atlanta Habitat staff volunteers Dorothy Hammond, family service outreach manager, Drew McGuffin, senior volunteer manager, Dan Maddox, vice president and COO and Chris Martin, human resources director led eight community volunteers on Atlanta Habitat’s 2nd Annual Global Village build.

This trip, rather than building a new home, the group completed several small projects–such as painting porous cement walls and repairing roofs–that helped several families. Replacing dirt floors by pouring new cement ones might seem like an easy task, a small project like that would take a little money and few hours of labor in America. However, in the Dominican Republic, it took long days and a lot of labor because pre-mixed cement is expensive and not readily available on the island. To make the cement, volunteers first sifted and measured gravel, then shoveled and mixed the cement by hand.

“Replacing dirt floors significantly increases the quality of life for a family,” Drew says. “Dirt floors often contain viruses, parasites, and pests which can cause respiratory diseases, anemia, and severe digestive distress.”

The volunteers also worked tirelessly to build 220-pound concrete slabs for new home construction and completed enough to build three houses. As Atlanta Habitat continues to help people across all borders, it is volunteers that keep the heart of the organization strong. “Everyone should experience a Global Village trip. It’s an incredible experience and a great way to see a place that you’ve never been, and you get to meet and work with people who are making a real difference,” Dorothy says. Each of the participants said that one week of hard work can make a positive impact on families, but the volunteers themselves are the ones who benefit most from the experience.