Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village Program (GV) is an international volunteer program wherein teams of twelve or more volunteers travel to communities in need of safe and decent housing through Habitat’s global network. Aligning with Habitat’s mission of bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope, volunteers build together with future homeowners and the local community. Although GV welcomes volunteers of all ages, Habitat Japan is best known for our youth volunteer teams of universities hailing from campus chapters around the country. This summer, Takahashi-san, a third-year student at Waseda University, joined his third GV build and shared their thoughts.
“How can building one house change the world”, “What can students without influence and without expertise accomplish by going overseas”. These were my honest doubts when I first learned about the Global Village program. Despite beginning with these doubts, I’ve come to know better and this summer I will have joined my third GV build. Even if we can’t change the world, the house we build can change the world for someone. I’ve come to believe that a small action can make a big difference in someone else’s life, with the way my life has changed since joining GV being one example.
My first GV trip was to Indonesia last summer, and my second trip was to Cambodia last Spring. The countries we visited are “developing countries” as they say, and the families we meet are facing some of the worst poverty among them. At first, I made the unconscious assumption that these people were pitiable, poor people struggling to make ends meet. However, when I actually joined GV I was shocked. The communities were tightly knit and vibrant, full of smiling faces making the most of and expressing gratitude for the lives they have.
We were immediately accepted by the locals, even though we were strangers from a far-away country. We smiled as we worked together, and once the house was finished, we exchanged teary expressions of gratitude and farewell. Through our time there, despite having less things I felt like the lives of the locals were somehow richer than the lives we lead back in Japan. However, this does not mean that their lives were safe, decent, or easy. The walls of their wooden homes were riddled with holes, exposing families to the elements. During the rainy season, houses flooded and were endangered by landslides. Even as they share their dreams with us, homeowners look at their current environment and are discouraged and tempted to give up. Through GV, I was able to meet these kinds of people and understand them and their difficult circumstances. While at first it saddened me, understanding these difficulties has become a source of power influencing my words and actions for their sake.
GV is not just about building houses, it is about building community and hope through building houses. GV is about building a bright future for a family through meeting a family in need of a proper home and building one alongside them. Now when I ask myself “How can building one house change the world”, I can answer “It may not change the world, but it will make a difference in the lives of the homeowners, their families, and everyone involved. Through the accumulation of these small changes, we can change the world.” Beyond the GV build itself, we try to change the world by spreading the word. By communicating our experiences and the need to support the global housing need through SNS and information sessions, we believe that we are spreading seeds that will make the world a better place.
At first glance, being a student may be considered as a lack of experience or knowledge. However, I feel that I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit developing countries on my own during my time as a student, deepening my own interest in the world and informing my path in life.
For sharing his experiences over three GV builds, we offer Takashi-san our sincerest thanks. Takahashi-san’s thoughts truly represent the meaning of Habitat's for Humanity’s work. Since its inception in 1976, Habitat has helped support over 47 million people in need of safe and decent housing. Despite this, as the world’s population increases and urbanization continues, the number and severity of housing crises also grows. Facing these global challenges, Habitat works not only to build homes but to influence people and policies, raising awareness of and ultimately tackling these pressing issues. Volunteers play a pivotal role in our work, serving not only to build but to share and empower. You too can join the Global Village program and empower the lives of those in need of safe and decent housing. Find more information here.