Helping Families Help Themselves

Donating time to Habitat for Humanity is a decision that has been shared by hundreds of thousands of volunteers since its inception over thirty years ago. Global Village volunteers are taking an active role in bringing Habitat’s goal of eliminating poverty housing from the face of the earth to fruition.

John Finnerty, executive director of Habitat for Humanity East Pasco, is a frequent visitor to the build sites throughout Macedonia. This June, he is leading his third Global Village team to this Balkan country.

Finnerty took his first trip to Europe and Central Asia in 2007. Back then, he met the Durmishkovski family. All the five people in the household – Bajaram, Dzemile and their three children – lived in two rooms in the house that could hardly be called that name. The walls were always damp, the ceiling leaked and there was no proper floor. There were no toilet and shower facilities in the house.

East Pasco Global Village team led by Finnerty worked under the supervision of construction managers on installing sewage pipes, electric wires and doing other interior works. At the end of the build season, the family could move into a clean and safe home. They also contributed their “sweat equity” on the build site alongside international volunteers.

The work of the team was remarkable, but so was the time spent on getting to know those whom they came to offer a helping “hand up”. Volunteers bound with the Durmishkovski family on the personal level and established a relationship that continues to this day.

When asked about working with John Finnerty, one volunteer said, “Working with John is amazing. He is a great person to be around… he really believes in what he’s doing.” “He’s really an inspiration…the way he talks to the families,” shared another volunteer.

Habitat for Humanity Macedonia acknowledged this devotion through the years by naming John Finnery an honorary board member of Habitat for Humanity Macedonia. Finnerty called this “the biggest honor of his life”.

However, he says, the real honor for him was to see how through all these years his efforts impacted lives of many underprivileged families in the region.