Habitat for Humanity Guyana 

Nicole Goberdhan

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

AMERICUS, USA:  Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 175, 000 houses, and provided shelter for nearly 900,000 people worldwide. Now at work in 100 countries, they are building a house every 26 minutes. By the end of 2005, Habitat houses will be sheltering 1 million people.

Habitat, a global, non-profit organization, builds houses for those in need. Recognized by world leaders and major award committees, Habitat has been devoted to taking a hands-on approach to altering life’s course one day at a time. Homeowner families are chosen according to their need; their ability to repay the no-profit, no-interest mortgage; and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat. 

On July 31, 2005 18 year-old Nicole Goberdhan will be joining this community in the Global Village (GV) volunteer program to bestow a home to a family on the West Bank Demerara in Guyana, South America.

Taking action with a Habitat affiliate is often a life-changing experience. 

Habitats for Humanity International’s Global Village trips give participants a unique opportunity to become active partners with people of another culture. Team members work alongside members raising awareness of the burden of poverty housing and building decent, affordable housing worldwide

HFH Guyana is organized as a non-profit organization under the laws of Guyana and received its official affiliation with Habitat for Humanity International in 1995. In 2003, it celebrated the completion of its 200th house and received HFHI’s regional award for achievement in Advocacy.

The vision of HFH Guyana is a Guyana without substandard housing. HFH Guyana recognizes that it cannot achieve this alone and believes that it must maintain a sustainable organizational structure and develop a broad base of support, while developing strategic alliances with other like-minded groups that share a common vision.

HFH Guyana homes are an average of 500 square feet with two-bedrooms and plumbing, but no electricity. They are built of reinforced concrete. Guyana is blessed with being located in a hurricane free zone, but it is subject to flooding in some areas.

HFH Guyana recognizes the need for rapid acceleration of the building process in order to truly make a dent in the housing needs of the country. Its emphasis on innovative and experimental models over the past fiscal year has resulted in a house design that is cheaper than the previous traditional one. Research is, however, continuing through the affiliate’s partners at the University of Guyana. 

According to Guyana’s government, 5,200 homes must be built each year for 10 years to meet the national housing need, while some 20 percent of Guyanese are illegally squatting.

The government of Guyana stated in its 2001 “Guyana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper” that poor housing infrastructure and high land costs were major issues contributing to the country’s severe poverty crisis. Some 35 percent live below the poverty line, with 19 percent living under conditions of extreme poverty. These poor lack equal access to land and housing opportunities.

In many areas, families endure leaking roofs and woefully inadequate space, with lack of privacy and sanitary facilities such as toilets or running water only the beginning of their challenges. They live in weak structures, many on the verge of collapse, with rotten walls, rusty and curled roof sheets or parts of the roof missing, and holes in the floor covered with cardboard. If windows exist, they are often covered with cardboard, zinc or wood.

Families with four to 10 members frequently live in single-room houses, with either no toilet, or a toilet and kitchen outdoors.

A few years ago, Monaselle Allen was chosen by the Habitat committee in Guyana to receive a home. Before she moved into her Habitat house, Monaselle lived in a one-bedroom flat with her eight children and eight grandchildren. They had no electricity or toilet, and water had to be fetched from the yard.

When it rained or when the neighbors upstairs took a bath, water streamed down the walls to the bed and floor where the children slept. She says although there were times she wasn’t sure she could finish building her Habitat house, the struggle was worth it. “If somebody could encourage me, and at the end of the encouragement I have achieved a home, then why can’t I do it to somebody else?” she says. “This is what life is all about. This is what Christianity is all about. We all have to help somebody.”

The calling of offering hope, as Allen described, is what inspired Nicole to take up this endeavor. In the past year, she has volunteered in Thailand and Nicaragua, building houses, teaching English and establishing local governments in these areas.

Attending Boston University in September, Nicole will be studying math and human rights. Recently she has won awards from the Long Island Catholic and the Quill and Scroll Society both for journalism.

The high school grad said that she is compelled, “to selflessly devote my all unconditionally for the advancement of compassion within each being. Poverty relishes in the majority of people but we all know the world is not intended to be this way. While we are still alive, we should have the innate nature to use our power to aggravate a change. It is an honor to be apart of the younger generation that is still concerned about the well being of our parents’ home country.”

She plans to continue her international volunteerism at BU. 

For more information, visit http://www.habitat.org/gv/mytrip/6493-5408 

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