Joann Blumenfeld is an energetic, resourceful teacher at a Wake County middle school who says that lessons she learned through Habitat for Humanity set the course for her and her family. The crux of what Joanne teaches her children is simple: Work hard. Focus on school. Give back.
It’s all about perspective. This week, 130+ AmeriCorps volunteers from throughout the country have descended upon the Northeast End community in Wake Forest with the task of building three homes from framing to finish, 2 homes from painting to finish, and providing much needed exterior repairs to 10 owner-occupied homes—all the while living with co-workers in a freshman dorm at NC State.
The housing finance system in the United States, despite some recent hiccups, has served us well helping to maintain homeownership rates of 60+% for many years. Suffice it to say, once you are in the system, it generally works as a mechanism to provide stable housing and also to build wealth over time.
I joined the homeownership ranks in 1982 when my wife and I purchased our first home in Lynchburg, Virginia. My parents helped us with the down payment and the previous owner provided financing at 12% interest which was much better than the market rates of 15%+.
Here’s a brief Holy Week meditation as we step back to reflect on the crucifixion and resurrection of
Jesus. These are lyrics from a song called, Trust, by the Smalltown Poets:
Take this bread, drink this cup
Know this price has pardoned you
From all that’s hardened you
But it’s going to take some trust
Meet Allyson Harding. She is currently an AmeriCorps member with the Denver Metro Habitat affiliate, but was a part of the NC State Habitat Chapter as an undergraduate student, and served a year as an AmeriCorps Member with Habitat Wake.
It's incredible to think that this long awaited trip to Honduras is coming to an end.
As I reflect back on this week, I think about how I felt when I first arrived at the airport in San Pedro Sula. As we rode in the 5 hour bus ride to Gracias, Lempira, all I could focus on was the poverty and the sub-standard housing that lined the streets. I thought about the homes we live in in the US, versus the shacks that many Hondurans call home.
However, as the week went on and I got to meet the local members of the community, I noticed how much happier they were than us.
Another amazing day in Honduras. Every day far exceeds my expectations. Our morning devotions have been incredibly meaningful and an integral part of this trip. It is clear that this group has grown close, and the respect and love between us is always apparent. I can only echo previous posts about how fortunate I feel to be a part of this group and to have met these wonderful people.
Today was our busiest day yet! On site, it was time for concrete: time to refill the trenches that we had just helped to excavate the two days before. It was so rewarding to see our constant progress as each pile of gravel grew, was mixed into concrete, and then dwindled as it set the layers of carefully and skillfully placed stone. And then the most exciting moment of the day: construction moved above ground! The first two rebar skeletons, that many of the team members had spent time carefully assembling, were placed, waiting to be transformed into solid columns.