Many people spend the day after Thanksgiving resting and digesting. Nothing wrong with that, but it probably can’t match boarding a plane for Jordan, where you can help Habitat build a home with another family in need.

Our team will be serving in the northern Jordan Valley town of Al Adessiah. Whether you are an experienced Habitat volunteer or a first-time Global Village participant, this is your opportunity to visit the Middle East in a truly constructive way.

We plan on packing a lot of building and cultural opportunities into this trip, but have it scheduled to last only nine days, including travel time—shorter than most Habitat Global Village trips overseas. This allows those with tight schedules to fit this trip in a single work week, and gives those with more free time the freedom to pursue extra sightseeing travel on their own after our trip wraps up.

Read on to learn more. You can apply for this trip online and e-mail GVJordan2010@gmail.com to set up an interview with this team’s leaders.

About Jordan and Al Adessiah
Jordan is a small country of approximately 6 million people. Although Jordan benefits from relative political stability and is one of the most educated countries in the Arab world, war and turmoil in the region have weakened the economy. Jordan has no oil reserves and inadequate supplies of water. The vast majority of Jordanians live on less than US$5,000 per year. Inadequate housing fosters a sense of helplessness and marginalization among the poor, most of who believe they are powerless to improve their living conditions.

We will be serving in Al Adessiah, a community of about 3,500 people very close to the Israeli and Syrian borders. In fact, we’ll have spectacular views of the Golan Heights and Lake Tiberius, the Sea of Galilee. This is an agricultural region for Jordan, with its rocky hillsides filled with olive, banana and citrus trees. It is also (relatively speaking!) somewhat cooler than most of central and southern Jordan.

About Habitat for Humanity Jordan
Habitat for Humanity Jordan began its work in 2001 and currently works in four rural villages, where the average family consists of seven children, and in three urban communities. To date, Habitat Jordan has built or renovated more than 520 houses. Habitat is also able to partner with another nonprofit to provide housing microfinance loans to even more low-income families. By bringing people together from all walks of life to work side-by-side, Habitat Jordan encourages cross-cultural understanding and helps break down the stereotypes that divide rich and poor, urban and rural, Western and Jordanian.

Types of construction for volunteers
Houses are made of cement blocks; the largest home measures 55 square meters. Team members assist Habitat staff and partner families sifting sand, mixing cement, hauling blocks, bricklaying, painting and plastering. Housing solutions in Jordan are built using appropriate, locally available building materials that meet specific housing requirements. Houses have cemented or tiled floors, plastered or limestone brick walls and secure concrete roofs.

Itinerary
Friday, Nov. 26: Depart for Jordan.
Saturday, Nov. 27: Arrive in Jordan; dinner and overnight in the capital city of Amman.
Sunday, Nov. 28: Breakfast at hotel; transport to Al Adessiah with lunch en route; welcome and orientation ceremony; dinner and overnight at guesthouse.
Monday, Nov. 29 – Wednesday, Dec. 1: Breakfast at guesthouse; work at build site 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; lunch on site; dinner at guesthouse; time for team activities in the evening.
Thursday, Dec. 2: Breakfast at hotel; work at the build site 9 a.m.–2 p.m.; closing ceremony. In the afternoon we will travel back to Amman by bus; final team dinner.
Friday, Dec. 3: Depart for home or for other independent sightseeing and travel.

Accommodations
In Amman, our team will stay in double-occupancy rooms with private baths at a three- or four-star hotel. In Al Adessiah, we will stay together in a local guesthouse that has separate communal sleeping for males and females, and shared Western toilets and showers.

Our team will have the opportunity to try plenty of delicious traditional Jordanian dishes. During build days, team members will be provided with a lunch—the main meal of the day—at the build site or in the guesthouse. Breakfast and dinner are typically lighter meals with fruit, eggs, bread, cereal and pasta—that we will prepare at our guesthouse. We will also get to eat out in Amman while there at the beginning and end of our trip.

Trip cost
US$1,420
For full info on what’s included in this cost, visit our page detailing Global Village trip cost.

Team leaders
You unfortunate, ahem, lucky ducks: Your team leaders for this trip are Phillip Jordan and Ezra Millstein. Both Phillip and Ezra work full-time with Habitat for Humanity International and have each led several Global Village teams. They look forward to sharing all they have learned about Habitat’s international work. And when they run out of material on day two, well, they’ll start making up stuff.

Phillip is a staff writer/editor who has visited Nepal, Chile and India with Global Village teams. Ezra is a staff photographer. He works to document Habitat’s work in 90 countries around the world, and has led Global Village teams to Vietnam, Hawaii, Tajikistan and South Korea. Check out some of his work at www.ezramillstein.com.

To set up a phone interview about joining this team to Jordan, e-mail Phillip and Ezra at GVJordan2010@gmail.com. Be sure to also fill out Habitat’s Global Village online application—mark Jordan as your preferred destination and the dates of Nov. 26 – Dec. 3 as your preferred time.