Women Build in India
Mel George, Katie Hughes and Heather Binns joined IndiaBUILDS for an unforgettable volunteer experience
Last month three women from Portland headed to Bangalore, India, bringing tennis shoes instead of sandals, long, durable pants instead of shorts and two pairs of work gloves each. They flew 27 hours not for a normal vacation, but to take part in Habitat for Humanity’s IndiaBUILDS. Launched in 2006, this ambitious five-year campaign aims to provide shelter and stability for 50,000 families. As part of the campaign, 62 women from varied backgrounds set off for India including Mel George, Katie Hughes and Heather Binns.
This unique Women Build kicked off on March 8th, International Women’s Day. Volunteers celebrated this day with hundreds of rural and underprivileged Indian women who were each a part of microfinance groups. In India, these microfinance groups lend women the opportunity to join together and save money. This is where Habitat steps in, allowing women the opportunity to purchase homes, creating a cycle of homeownership for women, instead of just men, something unheard of India.
Volunteers worked alongside their homeowners, getting to know the people in the community well over the course of the build. “To have the opportunity to work with families in need, and empower women and girls all around was an incredible and emotional experience,” says Mel. “There are no female masons in India, so working alongside skilled masonry experts often turned heads. Habitat for Humanity is not as well known in India as in the United States, so it was crucial to use every opportunity to raise awareness within the community.”
The majority of homeowner partners were single mothers, widows or women-headed households. Mel, Heather and Katie’s team worked alongside homeowner partners Sheela and Natarajan. They share their current home—one room and a small kitchen—with their 18-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter. For the equivalent of $20/month, Sheela works long hours at a garment factory to provide for her family. Natarajan is a carpenter by trade, but due to his chronic asthma and other health issues, he is unable to work.
At the beginning of each day, the 62 rambunctious women loaded into three buses and headed out to a community called Hedge Nagar, just outside of Bangalore. They rode down dusty roads, waving to school children and adults alike, who were all in awe of the buses of women rolling through their town. They arrived in a coconut grove, unloaded and headed out by foot to the 15 houses they were working on. During the day, some would dig, some would haul gravel. Others would mix concrete or move 13 kg concrete blocks. All, though, would aim to finish their house, working hard while laughing and joking, sharing food and songs with the neighbors who couldn’t help but stop and stare. At the end of the day, the Habitat volunteers walked back to the coconut grove, high-fiving kids, smiling at adults, exhausted after a long day’s work.
It was a wonderful learning experience for both the volunteers and the homeowners. When asked how she felt about the Women Build volunteers, Sheela said, “We are so surprised and happy to see educated people from different countries helping us to build our house. I always thought that the uneducated do the labor work and the educated enjoy the fruits of our labor. Today the volunteers helping us build our home have helped us gain greater esteem in our community in addition to providing dignity to our existence.”
