Romanian Big Build on World Habitat Day

Robin Barnett could hardly contain his enthusiasm Monday, October 5, as he walked onto the site of Habitat Romania’s Big Build, where volunteers were creating 10 homes in five days for low-income workers who had grown up in state-run orphanages.

“I cannot wait to get a hammer!” said Barnett, UK ambassador to Romania and one of more than 200 volunteers—most from Northern Ireland—celebrating World Habitat Day with words and action.

As Barnett said: “Building on a construction site with more than 200 people and not sitting in my office on World Habitat Day … what can be better?”

Former Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, a passionate supporter of Habitat, and Jan Sorensen, UN representative in Romania, also appeared eager to finish posing for journalists’ cameras and get down to real construction work.

Clearly, this was more than a photo op for the dignitaries. Hours after the news media had gotten their pictures and left the build site, Constantinescu, Sorenson and Barnett were still plastering walls, hammering and painting.

On Monday, when volunteers first arrived at the site, there were only foundations for the future houses. By day two, walls and roofs had been finished, and one could see a whole new streetscape emerging.

The future homeowners—who had spent their childhoods in orphanages before and after the fall of Communism—labored alongside volunteers and important guests to finish their simple and decent houses by the end of the week. For most, this would be the first real home they had ever had.

Gyongy Horvath, abandoned by her parents when she was 2, stayed in the orphan house until she was 18. As an official adult, she was thrown out on the street and marginalized by her countrymen. She slept wherever she could, including at train stations. After trying several ways to earn a decent living, she started working in construction and got involved with Habitat, volunteering at build sites throughout the country.

This spring, Horvath was selected by Habitat Romania for a new home. “Now that I will have finally my home, I hope that God will help me to have my own family,” she said. “I have been longing for one for a long time.”

The weeklong Big Build in Romania, beginning on the UN-designated World Habitat Day, was envisioned as a way to celebrate the long partnership between HFH Romania and HFH in Northern Ireland, which has sent hundreds of volunteers over the years.

Here you can find Geoff Hill’s daily diary from the Big Build.

To see how else you can be involved in Habitat’s work in the region, go here.

What is next?

Habitat wants people not only to read about poverty housing but do something to fight it. You can support Habitat’s work in Romania in a number of ways. Here are some examples:

• Visit our donations page to support projects in Romania.
• Go to country profile pages to learn about other programs in this country.