Tara Aase, Alison Lecker and Kayla Viessman traveled south in March to spend their spring break building with Columbus (Ga.) Area HFH.

Behind the Scenes:
Youth Build Houses, Futures

From its first campus chapter at Baylor University in 1987 to its current globe-spanning programs, Habitat for Humanity International's Campus Chapters and Youth Programs department has grown vigorously through the years, bringing fresh insight, experiences and strength to Habitat's mission.

It all began with a phone call. Gary Cook, then assistant to the president of Baylor University, was a Habitat for Humanity supporter in Waco, Texas. He called Habitat founder Millard Fuller with an invitation to speak at Baylor's chapel service, and, in the process, planted the seed for a group of Baylor students to become Habitat's first campus chapter.

The campus chapter idea spread quickly, and youth programs for younger children followed several years later. Now, children of all ages can be involved through participating in dedication ceremonies; raising funds with yard sales, car washes and penny drives; landscaping; designing T-shirts; and--for those age 16 and older--on-site construction.

For some students, working with Habitat is their first introduction to poverty and its effects. For others, Habitat offers a glimpse of hope to young people already well acquainted with the stresses of conflict and hardship.

Christina Tahis lives in Romania and participated in a Summer Youth Blitz during 2001, building a Habitat house in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. "I never thought different people, different ages, different thinking, could do the same things," Christina says. "Building a house? I never thought that. Until you see it, you don't believe it."

The experiences youth gather while volunteering with Habitat during school benefit the greater Habitat movement worldwide as well. Their energy and open-minded approach to problem-solving ensure that the work of providing decent, affordable housing for everyone in the world will continue.

"In order for Habitat for Humanity to truly accomplish its goal of eliminating substandard housing, we need to change the way people act and think," says CCYP director Steve Messinetti. "These young people who are accomplishing great things today will make even greater contributions to this goal over time. They will become not only the next generation of Habitat for Humanity leaders, but they will be the church pastors, business leaders, government leaders and community leaders who will be making decisions that affect the lives of families in their communities and nations."

True to CCYP style, creative plans are in progress to meet the challenges of involving youth on a worldwide scale. One challenge is that Habitat typically is most active in the rural areas of developing nations, while schools tend to cluster in urban areas. To invite as many rural youth as possible to work with Habitat, the department has created community youth groups, similar to campus chapters but not affiliated with a specific institution.

Since 1987, youth involvement in Habitat's work has grown to include more than 750 campus chapters in 26 countries with an estimated membership of 30,000 students, as well as other youth working on and off the construction site to raise awareness of substandard housing issues. As youth involvement grows, so does the hope of achieving the goal of a simple, decent place for everyone to live.

--Rebekah Daniel