Namaskara!
How can I express my excitement and nervousness? In seven days I'm embarking on my first Habitat for Humanity project in India. On March 8th, International Women's Day, volunteers from around the world will begin building homes in a village north of Bangalore called Hegde Nagar.
In 2006, HFH India launched a campaign called IndiaBUILDS to provide shelter and stability to 50,000 families. As a part of this campaign, Habitat India is bringing different segments of society together to build, which includes women from all backgrounds. We the volunteers, will work alongside members of local women's savings groups as a part of Habitat's "Women Build" initiative.
The women we will be building with live in a resettlement colony in Hegde Nagar. The families that were moved there from slums in Bangalore's urban neighborhoods still do not have access to decent housing. Conditions are poor for most due to underemployment and lack of basic services. Unfortunately, most of the women living there become single parents after a husband has moved elsewhere for work or even worse, is lost to alcoholism. This makes the women vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
What I've learned in the past few weeks as I research Habitat and the Global Village program, that this is not a hand-out, but a hands up. There is a need to improve housing, so along with these amazing women, we will contribute sweat-equity hours working on their homes. In addition to all this, the aim is to increase the dignity and social capital of these women. I feel so fortunate that I will have the opportunity to get to know them better. We will work side-by-side building, we will be participating in study sessions on self-help groups and micro financing, and we will take a poverty-housing tour of the slum community in which many of these women live.
I feel like this particular project wasn't something I fell into. I was guided towards it by a higher force. People come into our lives for different reasons and there is always a purpose. Last year, I met ten different women and they each have had a purpose in my life. I want to thank my YKB ladies! Each of your stories empowered me to change and develop. You have given me the strength to build a better me. And now, I have the ability to help other women build better lives. Thank you.
