Well, its Monday back at UMW and getting into our routines again. As we get back to our daily lives, we will keep this past weeks experiences with us for the rest of our lives. We had a lot of fun getting to know the Albany community but more importantly we worked hard for a great cause that will make a difference for years to come.
Above are some photos from throughout the week that we weren’t able to post until we were back to real computer. Enjoy!
Check us out next year for our next round of Alternative Spring Break trips!
Hello my dear blog followers. This is JC Schroeder from Ohio Northern University with a guest blog update. Today was a beautiful, sunny day and our Habicrew took the opportunity to see the sights that beautiful Albany had to offer. I started with an exhausting five mile run led by UMW’s very own Trinity. By exhausting, I mean exhaustingly fun and entertaining, and am not suggesting anything about the status of my physical fitness. Next up, our team went to the ever exciting Flint River Aquarium. I saw gators, eels, birds, humans, and fish. I did not get the opportunity to witness a poonchkie, the natural predator of the gator. These frightfully cute pink creatures are devastating the population of wild alligators and have left only about 100 albino gators left in the population of the world. Stuff happened after that, but the real fun started afterwards when UMW and ONU joined forces to rock Georgia with a bomb-diggity dance social. Many fun times were had. The end.
It was our last day in Albany and we spent the morning getting some well deserved rest. After sleeping in for a bit we prepared a large breakfast and got on the road to Americus for a tour of the Global Village. The staff gave us a brief overview of Habitat for Humanity International and then released us for a self-guided tour of the grounds. Global Village is a collection of sample homes that Habitat builds from all over the world.
It was an eye opening experience for us all to see the types of homes people live in around the globe.
Tonight, is our last night with new friends. The group from Sacred Heart University left this morning but our Ohio Northern friends are planning a “social” for tonight and we are looking forward to making our last night the best so far.
Here are some thoughts about our trip from everyone else:
It was amazing to see all of the progress one group of people who barely know each other (in the beginning) can make over the course of only four days. I’m not sure any of us realize the impact that our work is going to make in the life of its future homeowner, but I am sure it has made a lasting effect on me. I feel very lucky to have been a part of the process.
-Kelly
Visiting the Global Village was an extremely eye-opening experience. As I walked through the tin, cardboard and wood shacks I attempted to imagine living day to day in these impoverished conditions, and it was nearly impossible. Realizing that millions of people live this way was both upsetting and inspirational, knowing that Habitat for Humanity is working diligently to better the lives of not only those in our country, but all over the world to help bring equality to all.
-Trinity
Today was our last day on site and we are sad we can’t stay longer! When we arrived on Monday morning, the house was just a concrete slab with framed walls. In a matter of days with some simple tools, instructions from Jimmy and Ed, hard work, and our own two hands (130 hands total), our crew was able to turn our starting product into something that resembles a house. The trusses are up and the exterior is ready for siding. Even all the windows and the front and back doors are installed! Every step of the way took teamwork and that teamwork led to new friendships.
At the end of the day, we gathered at the porch for group photos and the atmosphere was almost like the last day of grade school - lots of hugs and photos with new friends.
Back at the camp, we enjoyed some dinner and group discussion of the trip so far. We talked about our highs and lows and the highs far outweighed the lows.
The rest of the evening was spent around the fire making s’mores and bonding. Slowly, each person is giving in to exhaustion and heading to bed. Tomorrow is our last full day in Albany and UMW is heading to Americus to see Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village.
Most of our day was spent up on ladders and the roof. No better place to be on Spring Break! Day 3 started out with us pulling plywood up onto the trusses to start getting the house dried in. We also emptied out an on-site storage container so we could outfit it with some shelves. There were no shortages of jobs for all 65 of us!
A local job training organization’s culinary program provided lunch for us and we were blown away at the gourmet meal we enjoyed while still wearing our hard hats and tool belts!
The American Legion Post provided us with a wonderful dinner and great conversation before an evening at the All American Funpark. Our group enjoyed an evening of mini golf, laser tag and go-carts. After at day of hardwork, delicious food, and good clean fun, we will have no trouble falling asleep tonight!
Tomorrow is our last day on site. It’s hard to believe its gone by so fast!
Day 3 and 4: WORK. Most of us are currently very sun burned and all of us are very tired from the past two days of work. We were up on a roof on day one nailing in drip edge along the edges of the roof. The sun was beating down on us but we had a great day with our two construction coordinators, Steve and Bruce, who welcomed us well and have taught us all a lot—about construction and life. We went to St. Davids Episcopal Church by-the-sea for dinner, and had delicious lasagna and great conversation.
Today we arrived at a different site, with two homes next to each other…or two lots. We started putting up the trusses on the framing of one home, and put in plates on the concrete slab of the other site, which outlined the concrete slab and where the framing will be built upon. We worked alongside the Youth Built crew, a group of young people in a work-study program who were awesome. We got to meet them and talk about how they’re working towards GEDs and hope to get jobs in the future. We also were able to meet future Habitat home owners who were working with us as well. We were told that the neighborhood we were working in used to be in bad condition until Habitat began to build throughout the area. Drugs were rampant and crimes were frequent, but Habitat helped change that. It was mind- boggling to hear the details.The past two days have been very rewarding and humbling. Since we had to vacate “the beach house” tonight (where we’re staying at the church) we spent the evening at Charlotte’s house, a woman who works for Habitat and graciously lent her home to us to eat and hang out for a few hours. We also spent a little time on the beach where Catherine, Hester, and Fatemeh ventured into the water. The weather has been chilly in the mornings and evenings, and warm during the day (65-75 degrees) with some wind. It’s beautiful compared to Virginia, but the sun has uncomfortably baked us. We’re all getting to know each other well and doing a lot of laughing. We’re also very grateful to be avoiding the snow in VA.
I think I’ll just stay in Florida…
~R
If you drove down Rosebrier Avenue today you would have heard hammering and lots of it. We really hit our stride today! Some of the more daring members of our group took to the rafters to install the trusses while the rest of us encased the house in plywood to get it ready for siding. By the end of the day, the house looked completely different! We continue to bond we the volunteers from the other schools and love learning about their campuses and Habitat for Humanity clubs. It’s great to see college students making a difference nationwide!
For dinner, the Knights of Columbus treated us to a great dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread. They have been feeding Collegiate Challenge trips every Tuesday for over 20 years. The Albany community has been very good to us!
We are halfway through our work days and are excited for more hammering and hard work tomorrow!
