Year 6, Vol.1: Building a Home Event

“Building a Home” Event

Between november the 5th and the 11th, Habitat for Humanity Argentina (HPHA) carried out an important building event called “Building a Home”. During this week, several local, national and international volunteers gathered their efforts in order to build the house of a family in need in the “Los Gallitos” neighbourhood, in the Lujan outskirts.

The remarkable result of this team work between volunteers and familys not only achieved the construction of a house for a family in need, but it also encouraged the community to participate in the alleviation of the problem of inadequate housing in Luján as well as in the rest of the country.

The event was related to our “At Home for a Home” campaign. This campaign was started by HPHA on a national level to build awareness amongst those living in decent homes, of the housing need in Argentina, and to give a clear message of hope by encouriging the action and the involvement of everyone in order to help more families to have a house. This was how “At Home for a Home” was able to obtain volunteers to participate in “Building a Home”.

The most moving part of this event was no doubt the evening when the families already living in houses built with HPHA, invited the volunteers “home” for dinner. This completed the cycle of our campaign: “At home for a home”. Volunteers and donations raised through dinners held in several homes around the country, allowed for the building and financing of a new home where a family who had not previously been able to invite friends “home for dinner” could now join the “At home for a home” campaign!

Some of the volunteers dedicated to the construction came from the Global Village Programme, and they traveled all the way to our country from USA, Canada and Great Britain. Each of them showed their strong commitment by paying all of their expenses with the only aim of participating in the event. Volunteers form Santa Fe and Buenos Aires also were part of “Building for a Home”, incluiding a group of employees from Accenture Argentina.

There was also a group of logistics volunteers who helped with activities that supported the construction, such as a group of ladies form the Anglican Church who prepared some delicious home made cakes for the volunteers.

“Building a Home” concluded on November the 11th with a closing event in which participated the staff from HPHA, families, volunteers, donors, and local colaborators. Before starting lunch a very memorable balloon release was made, with hope messages writen by the people that took part of the whole activity and gave to the event a unique ending.

“At home for a home” is an ongoing campaign... Please contact us if you wish to organize a dinner in your home to benefit those who still do not have a home to comunicacion@hpha.org.ar