June 29th, 2010

Brick Walls Go Up And Windows Are Installed On Second Day Of HFH Mongolia’s Blitz Build

ULAANBAATAR, 29th June 2010: On the second day of Habitat for Humanity Mongolia’s Blue Sky Build, the dip in temperature helped volunteers and Habitat home partners to make faster progress. Most of the 29 houses to be completed had their windows installed and some houses’ brick walls were built to nearly roof level. On one house, the roof rafters were even put up.

A few volunteers said they preferred to build in colder weather than amid the scorching heat experienced on the first day of the build.

Goodwill was also shown when a World Vision volunteer offered her sweater to a shivering Habitat for Humanity staff member.

Although it was the second day of the build, some volunteers had just arrived due to delays in their flight. Steve and Barbara Szemenyei were among them. The couple, in their late 70s, had spent four-and-a-half days in various airports and on flights in their journey from Los Angeles, U.S.A., to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar for the Blue Sky Build.

The Szemenyeis, veteran volunteers of 14 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Projects, got down to work quickly when they reached the build site. Steve, who owns a construction company in California, was demonstrating to some Korean and Mongolian volunteers how to build properly aligned brick walls.

When Steve and Barbara arrived on Monday evening – too late to join the first day of the build – he was a little concerned about the construction progress of the house which he and his wife would be working on. After a day’s work, Steve was satisfied that the brick walls were laid to about the height of the scaffolding, about 1.65 meter high. When told that his team had about half an hour to go before the end of the second day’s build, he said: “Like people running on the treadmill, we have to make the last sprint.” He then promptly turned to brick-laying.

Habitat home partners such as Ganbold Enkhsaikhan also worked steadily, laying bricks and mixing mortar. The 29-year-old Mongolian language teacher was eager to complete his house before his wife and infant daughter returned from their visit to their relatives in the countryside.

“It is difficult for young people to afford a good house because land is expensive in Mongolia,” said Enkhsaikhan. While his current rented two-room apartment in Ulaanbaatar is slightly bigger than the 36-square-meter Habitat house, he does not mind it because he will have his own house for the first time. Half of his 400,000 tugrik (US$292) monthly salary goes to paying the rent each month. He will be repaying 152,000 tugriks in monthly installments for his Habitat house, to be repaid over four years.

Other than owning a permanent and affordable house, Enkhsaikhan also welcomes a distinct benefit. “The air here is fresher than in the city,” the father of an eight-month-old daughter said.