Building with bamboo in Myanmar

Over 80 Habitat volunteers from Japan and Hong Kong traveled to Myanmar as part of a special Global Village volunteer trip to build houses with eight families.

The trip was part of Habitat for Humanity’s largest youth initiative in the Asia-Pacific region — Young Leaders Build — which engages more than 4 million youth to volunteer, raise funds and speak out for the cause of affordable housing.

In Myanmar, the volunteers helped build houses made of bamboo, a traditional material used for housing in the Asian country. The bamboo used was specially treated to allow them to stand strong for 10 years. Bamboo houses in Myanmar typically have to be rebuilt every two or so years.

Volunteers developed a special bond with the villagers after spending almost two weeks working together. Thet Woi Htun, one of new Habitat homeowners, bid farewell to the young volunteers, saying with tears in her eyes, “I will remember this time forever.”