The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | October/November 2000
| The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | October/November 2000 |
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The Jimmy Carter Work Project 1999: One Year Later
By Milana McLead
March 26, 2000, seemed to dawn a little brighter than the previous 364 days over Isaiahville in Maragondon—one of six sites for last year’s 293-house Jimmy Carter Work Project in the Philippines. On that day, hundreds of men, women and children gathered to celebrate: It had been one year since the former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, and hundreds of other volunteers had worked in their community to help build 130 simple, solid and decent Habitat houses. It was time to give thanks, in keeping with the Filipino cultural tradition of honoring momentous events. Many families received anniversary cards from the volunteer crews that helped build their houses. Eva Sambilad, homeowner of “House #8” can still recite the names of the volunteers who helped her build. “Last year, they asked me what else I wanted,” she says through tears. “I said I don’t need anything now. You came and helped. That was enough.” It is a sentiment shared by many whose lives have changed in the aftermath of that once-in-a-lifetime blitz-build week of March 1999. “I was in a state of shock that a simple person like me would work with a person like Jimmy Carter or meet Presidents Ramos, Estrada and Aquino,” says homeowner Leonisa Salas. That memory isn’t the only remarkable thing experienced since the project. Though HFH Philippines was affiliated in 1986 and had been building since 1988, only nine affiliates and 2,100 houses were in place by March 1999. At the end of that year, just nine months post-JCWP, more than 50 requests for affiliate development had been received, nine new affiliates had been approved and local Habitat leaders had a new problem: how to effectively manage growth. House numbers have been at a nationwide high ever since JCWP. By the end of 1999, the national organization’s house count reached 630. Further, by June 2000, four more affiliates were approved and more than 500 houses were completed. Currently, some 18 potential affiliates have committees in place, and HFH Philippines plans to build 2,400 houses between July 2000 and June 2001. By most accounts, since JCWP 1999, the name of Habitat for Humanity has become firmly associated with eliminating poverty housing. Ironically, some Filipinos think Habitat is just two years old in their country. “Before, the name of Habitat was thought to be a government group,” says Charlie Ayco, area director for HFH Philippines. “Now, it’s recognized as a housing organization, it’s a household word.” As if to validate his words, when an American visitor recently strolled along a remote beach near one of the JCWP project sites, a group of Filipinos called out a friendly greeting: “Hey, Habitat!” The project brought also a renewal of the Filipino tradition of bayanihan, a spirit of working together. In fact, the project’s slogan was magbayanihan tayo, meaning “let us build together.” The project lived up to its billing. “The Filipino people had been losing bayanihan because of poverty,” says Fred Valdez, area facilitator for World Vision Development Foundation. “Habitat’s work is an example of the bayanihan spirit of cooperation and partnership. The new generation, [until now] has had no memory of that.” If the success of Youth Build 2000 is any indication, Filipino youth have not only discovered bayanihan, they also have caught the vision of Habitat. From January through June of this year, 17,000 young people turned out to build 319 houses with 13 Habitat for Humanity affiliates. “For me, the most exciting thing about Youth Build was that it eclipsed the JCWP,” says Rick Hathaway, HFHI’s East/Southeast Asia regional director and JCWP 1999 project director. “Our goal is that the JCWP not be the only benchmark.” The project reached, and is still reaching, beyond the Philippines. Every existing Habitat organization in the Asia region was represented at JCWP. Habitat’s local representatives from Thailand and Malaysia returned home and promptly built the first Habitat houses in those countries. The delegation from Indonesia came away with a renewed enthusiasm and began building again upon their return. Some 500 Koreans participated, deepening ties to the program, local affiliates and youth programs. In the end, HFH Philippines tithed $60,000 to other Asian countries and Ghana, West Africa, to support house building there. All things considered, the Jimmy Carter Work Project was a success, though admittedly, in some ways there has been a price to pay. Such a project stretches a local organization to its limits. Unlike other JCWP sites where soon-to-be homeowners moved only a short distance into their new Habitat houses, at Isaiahville, many were relocated from settlements much farther away. For these families, the promise of decent shelter outweighed the potential loss of their meager livelihoods. In a classic ripple effect, today, their ability to re-establish their livelihoods obviously impacts their ability to repay their mortgages. “We are experiencing this problem because JCWP happened so fast,” says Cathy Salen, affiliate development officer for the Luzon area. “We’ve learned from the process. But we have seen the changes decent housing for families yields. Now they can manage their families, go to school, earn a living—all of that is under way.” Habitat, World Vision and the Shoreline Development Project are implementing livelihood projects to improve the situation. And, construction workers, who learned their skills while building their own Habitat houses, are finding jobs with contractors. Recent reports reveal that repayment rates on Habitat houses in Isaiahville are steadily improving. With a realistic eye on resolving such issues, HFH Philippines also looks ahead to a bright future. The board and advisory council are meeting the challenge through strategic positioning for future growth. Erly de Guzman, national director, sees bridge building as an analogy for Habitat’s work. “There are many kinds of bridge builders,” she says. “These bridges help us cross over, to stretch out our hands in love. We must ask and answer, ‘What bridge is my life building today?’” HFH Philippines’ leaders have answered that question. And they are planning to build by thinking big, with a capital B. Their plan? No less than six special events in the next 12 months, affiliates in every one of the nation’s 79 provinces, increased housing production to an annual capacity of 5,000 houses a year, and a total of 20,000 Habitat houses in the Philippines by the year 2005.
It is clear that 18 months after the 1999 JCWP, volunteers left a legacy. “I asked myself, if other countries can [volunteer] and do it, then why not the Philippines?” says Eva Bables. She lives in a shack by the river. She will soon be a Habitat homeowner, a fact she did not know when she volunteered at the Isaiahville site last year. “It felt good to help. When I saw people from all walks of life at Maragondon, I cried in my inner feeling. This is bayanihan.” At a Glance: Exponential Growth Six sites hosted more than 14,000 Jimmy Carter Work Project volunteers on four different islands throughout the Philippines in March 1999. The total number of houses built that week was a record 293. Since then, those affiliates have stepped up the pace and built 402 houses -- all with homeowners and local volunteers.
Milana McLead is editor of Habitat World. Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, October/November 2000. This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission. ©2000 Habitat for Humanity International |
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