Today, we sided a house, added a porch, moved interior walls, and installed closets. Yep, in one day.
"I am nothing short of amazed at how much you all accomplished today," said Bud, the Habitat for Humanity site supervisor. Our success today was no secret: we were efficiently split among a few skilled leaders and given the tools we needed to keep working. When we ran out of ladders, someone went to get more. The leaders at the site were free to float around and inspect work, correcting flaws (and there were many) and getting it done right.
"Your siding is nearly perfect." And it wouldn't have been without efficient distribution and management of our labor. We're a big group, especially for a construction project, but our power is in our numbers. We all stayed and worked all day - and accomplished a lot.
Our Affordable Housing curriculum is moving along nicely. We met last night and discussed homelessness among other things. Some really interesting work is being done by the National Alliance to End Homelessness (endhomelessness.org).
It's nice to bring the trip back to its focus, and remember why we're really here: to build houses, raise money, and make the public more aware of the affordable housing crisis. I'm reminded of why I feel strongly about this issue. While affordable housing is a simple concept, it has an impact on a wide spectrum of family problems: nutrition, education, and spending on health care are all lower priorities than a home to most families. If we're able to make housing more affordable, lives will be improved in many ways. I'm excited to be a part of the solution. What can you do to help?
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