Habitat for Humanity builds in 70+ countries and invites volunteers to participate these projects through its Global Village program. In February Greater Indy Habitat completed our fifth trip to El Salvador with 11 volunteers and in total has tithed more than 1.3 million to our sister affiliates in Central America.

Get the scoop on our latest trip from travelers Tim and Jess Cummings!

Why did you decide to participate in a Global Village trip?

“Jess and I were looking for an easy way to dedicate some time to a volunteer group and have an adventure while doing it. We visited the Habitat site to see if there would be anything that would fit what we were looking for.”

What stands out about your experience in El Salvador?

“The best part was the group we were with. Everyone was great to be around and made all the hard work enjoyable. We really enjoyed being about to see some of the Salvadorian culture. Our group was working on wall masonry and pouring concrete for the floor. During the build, it was a running joke that every time we would complete another cinderblock row on the wall, Luis (the head mason), would always tell us there were 10 more rows to go.”

How is the need for decent housing the same and different between Indy and El Salvador?

“No matter where you live, some sort of sturdy shelter is important to stay safe and have a place to call your home. However, the build style of the houses were quite different. While Indy houses need to be able to deal with both hot and cold temperatures, El Salvador needs to build their houses capable of surviving hurricanes and earthquakes. The houses in general in El Salvador were much smaller and simpler than those build in Indianapolis, but the people there seemed to have just as much pride and excitement about their homes.”

Describe an experience with the family or on the build site that will stick with you.

“We had a fairly steep language barrier between the volunteers and the family, [but] we were still able to see how excited they were about the house. We did get to visit a homeowner from an Indy Habitat Global Village trip from a few years ago. It really stuck with us how happy they were to welcome us into their house and show us how they were doing. They provided us with snacks and freshly cut coconuts and gave us the full tour. Finally, we were very impressed by the masons who work on the houses in El Salvador. After spending a week mixing and moving concrete on the house, the whole group was amazed to know that the mason has only a couple of helpers who work with him to complete the house. [Another] highlight that stands out was getting to meet the mom of the homeowner and visiting her at her house/pupuseria where she lived and sold pupusas on the street.”

Would you encourage others to join a Global Village trip with Greater Indy Habitat?

“Absolutely! Global Village is a wonderful adventure that allows you to see how other people live in other countries and give you a peak into their culture. It is specifically nice to work with the Indy chapter as it meant the whole group lives in the same area which allowed us to meet up a couple of times before the trip to get to know each other beforehand.”

Reflecting back, what did this trip mean to you?

“The experience showed us what a loving community Habitat is and is the kind of community that cares about those around it.”

View more photos from the 2019 trip!

Post written by Scott Budlong, Financial Associate with Thrivent Financial

I recently got back from the Dominican Republic. I’m blessed and grateful to be a financial representative for Thrivent Financial which is the largest non-governmental donor to Habitat for Humanity in the world. So, when I went down to the Dominican Republic to partake in a Thrivent Worldwide Build, I didn’t quite know if it was going to be work, a vacation, or a little bit of both. To be honest I still don’t know what it was, but I do know it blew my mind and was deeply meaningful.

The first step for me was to decide to take a risk. I could have gone to Jamaica and used my money to buy piña colada’s and enjoy the beach. It’s difficult for me to get away from the office, but Thrivent Financial encouraged me to take a week with a church leader. A full week with 12 people I’ve never met?! Sure! I’ll risk it.

Secondly, I choose to get to know the local community. Spanish is the predominate language in the Dominican Republic. Having lived in Central America for four months (14 years ago), I had the vocabulary of a preschooler. With patience, genuine smiles, and the Google Translate App, the language gap was bridged. It took me two days to build enough trust for Jeffery, a child in the village, to share his name with me. After that, I learned that Jeffery is 13 years-old, loves to throw Frisbee, and will take advantage of any opportunity he can to watch the Teenaged Mutate Ninja Turtles. We helped Jeffery’s aunt with installing a cement floor to replace her old dirt floor. Dirt floors are responsible for 85% of the sicknesses in Jeffery’s village of El Capa. She literally danced on the cement floor when we were done. Smiles all around.

Finally, I was open to the community getting to know me. I was not the only person in the Dominican Republic who knew how to use a shovel or wield a paint brush. In fact, I suspect I not even in the top quartile of brush and shovel wielders. But, I was present. There every day for a week. Smiling and full of concern. At the end of the week, the village of El Capa along with the Thrivent Worldwide Builds Team came together for a celebration. Long after I leave El Capa, the families won’t just be grateful for a new roof, a low-interest loan, and a cement floor. They will remember that someone cared enough to make their life a little better. They won’t likely remember my name, but they will remember that a group cared. It’s hard to overestimate the special addition of care and concern that Thrivent and Habitat build into each project.

I was blown away by the relationships I built in my trip, the meaningfulness of the experience, and the depth of impact on lives. I will be going back again in 2018 to lead a trip. (Also, I will want to see how my friend Jeffery is doing in school.)

Interested in traveling with Habitat to build homes in Central America? Learn more about our Global Village trip to El Salvador this November! Register by Sept. 1. 

“Mas? No Mas?” I ask Oscar as I point to a pile of rebar on the ground next to the footer my new friend Mauricio just finished digging.  I’m realizing now that I should have put more time into learning basic phrases of Spanish before leaving for our trip. It’s day three of work on the Habitat for Humanity house in El Salvador. Our hosts Adriana and Luis were with us every step of the way, translating our English to Spanish to communicate with the masons and the homeowners, but I just wanted to communicate with Oscar on my own, person to person, without help.

When we arrived at the work site on Monday, it was just a plain dirt lot. By Wednesday, the footers had been dug, the dirt moved away, rebar supports and structures bent and assembled, and the first batches of concrete mixed and poured in the footers.  All this was done with shovels, wheelbarrows, wire snips, and Oscar’s ingenuity as the mason overseeing the build.  There were just over 10 of us working on the home including the mason overseeing the build, Oscar, two of his helpers, 6 volunteers from Indianapolis, and our hosts Adriana and Luis.

The neighbor Veronica is also a Habitat homeowner! She has been in her home for 15 years and will pay it off this month! Through her hard work she has been able to support her family with the help of Habitat and now she is able to support her brother, Osmil as he begins his journey to homeownership not just as a sister, but as a neighbor.

Veronica and Osmil’s families hosted us in their neighborhood and homes so wonderfully, making sure we had cold drinks and snacks in the hot and humid Central American weather.  Their warmth and welcome paired with the comradery of our volunteer team made the worksite a delight amongst the concrete and rebar.

By Friday, at the end of our time at Osmil’s home, we had gone from a flat dirt lot to the beginning of the foundation and a rebar structure that was almost ready to start laying the brick walls.  This was our good hard work with much more work to do.

Through this trip, I have been reminded that many times, the things in life worth doing can’t be completed in a week, or a month, or even in a few years.  This past week we started a home that will take weeks more to finish.  Osmil and his family are in the middle of their journey to homeownership that will take years to complete. Habitat for Humanity of El Salvador will walk with 400 families nationwide starting their journey to homeownership this year.  Here in the Greater Indy area, Habitat will link arms with 28 new homeowners this year that will join the over 500 new homeowners they have journeyed with since they first broke ground 30 years ago.

So, whether it is me learning more Spanish for the next time I’m in El Salvador with Habitat, partnering with Greater Indy Habitat in a deeper way, or being a better neighbor; may we continue to contribute to the good and hard work happening around us.  May we be good neighbors in this Global Village.

Before leaving for his second trip to El Salvador with Habitat for Humanity, Chris shares what the experience of serving with others means to him.

It’s been a year and half since I was in El Salvador for the first time with Global Village, and now that I’m ready to embark on my second trip this month, I can honestly say I’m just as excited if not more this time!

I’ve been blessed to be a part of another Global Village mission trip with our incredible international Habitat partners in El Salvador.  The fact that we get the opportunity to work alongside (sometime in the ditches), a family to raise the walls of their home is an amazing feeling, and regardless of the language barrier, there’s always something special about the bond we have with these families.

I would also add that our interactions with the local Habitat team, including the construction team, has been inspiring.  They welcome us with open arms, as if we were family and treat us like royalty!   They take care of our every need, and always keep our safety a top priority.  And when we’re not on the build site, we’re taking in the local culture and enjoying the hospitality of the wonderful people of El Salvador.

Overall, the trip is nothing short of a life-changing experience that I would encourage everyone to consider in their lifetime!