Sisters residents build Habitat homes in Nepal

Seven local residents participated in an extraordinary project, as Sisters Habitat for Humanity teamed with Habitat for Humanity International in the second phase of "Everest Big Build." Four hundred international volunteers helped to complete 40 houses in three different village locations for impoverished families in Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world.

The Sisters group, consisting of MaryAnne and Jack McDonnell, Roy and Garlyn Warren, Anne Magnus, Peggy Rheuben and David MacKenzie, were able to complete two houses during a week of hard but very gratifying work. MaryAnne and Jack were house leaders with a team of 13 volunteers from the Salem area, completing a four-room home for a family of six - a couple in their late 60s, their daughter-in-law, and their three grandchildren ages 2, 4 and 10. Roy was house leader for the remainder of the Sisters group. Roy's team completed a two-room home for a young man whose wife had died, and his father.

When the Sisters group arrived in the village of Lamidanda in the Himalayan foothills they were assigned to houses where exterior and interior walls were partially completed. In the one-week building project, using locally made bricks with mud mortar, bamboo roof rafters and corrugated tin roofing, they were able to finish these very basic homes, which have no running water or electricity, providing safe and secure shelter for very appreciative families.

Consistent with the Habitat for Humanity philosophy, the future residents of each home were encouraged to be a part of the building project in any way they could. Because of this, the volunteers were able to develop relationships with the people for whom they were building, and also learned local building practices.

On the last day of the build proud new homeowners honored volunteers at each house with a blessing ceremony; house leaders gave homeowners the keys to their new homes. The culmination of the project was the gathering of all 400 international volunteers, heads of Habitat for Humanity International, and local government officials, as well as all the new homeowners, for a celebration honoring this enormous humanitarian project.

All seven Sisters volunteers agree this was an amazing experience of people reaching out across the world to join together in helping others in need. The biggest reward was experiencing the appreciation felt by the new homeowners, who were awestruck that people they didn't know, from very far away, would come to work so hard to give them a decent place to live.

Sisters Habitat for Humanity was able to sponsor the volunteers through Habitat International's tithe program. In exchange for designating their annual tithe to Nepal, the affiliate was offered the opportunity to send volunteers to help build. To date Sisters Habitat for Humanity has provided housing for 49 local families and 79 families abroad.

There will be a presentation of the Everest Big Build, including slideshow, on January 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Sisters City Hall. The free event is open to the public. Call the Habitat office for more information at 541-549-1193.