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Habitat Staff Build Ladies College Ladies College
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Using Volunteer Work Teams
A founding principle of Habitat for Humanity is using volunteer labor to decrease the cost of building houses and to foster inter-community relations. Habitat's simple, decent houses are a perfect match for volunteers because their construction requires a great deal of unskilled labor such as excavation, foundation work, cement block production and shifting sand etc. Since 1997, Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka's (HFHSL) Global Village program has been host to thousands of volunteers.It is renowned for being one of Habitat for Humanity International's most popular Global Village programs. What Volunteers Do For Habitat Speed Construction: A 12-member team working 32 hours a week can provide all the unskilled labor to complete an entire house. Short-term volunteers who haul water and mix cement decrease fatigue on local paid labor, volunteers and homeowner families helping to build the houses.Neighbors too join in and start working with the volunteers and this helps to increases the unity among neighbors also. Save Money: Not having to pay for unskilled labor can save around 5-10% of the already low house cost. Raise Funds:Teams pay their own expenses and donate funds to Habitat which goes into a building fund. In addition, teams often donate much-needed resources, such as construction tools, office equipment and other materials to the satellite. Raise Awareness: The experience of seeing poverty first hand while living in a foreign community, and directly improving people's lives is so powerful, that GV participants volunteer again and again and spread the word to others. Promote Compassion And Volunteerism At The Grass-Roots Level: Habitat volunteers show homeowners that people all over the world, that they care. Their compassion inspires communities they serve to also volunteer. What Habitat Does For Volunteers In using volunteers, HFHSL follows another set of best practices. Provides On-The-Job Training: Teams learn about safety, tools & equipment and building processes; cultural orientation helps teams work with local staff and families. Recruits Diversely: All ages, nationalities and religions are welcome; there are programs for churches, schools & corporate groups. Provides Meaningful Work: Teams perform a variety of work on houses in various stages of completion, under supervision. Encourages Involvement In The Local Community: Volunteers build strong bonds with partner families; they visit orphanages and schools; they attend local worship services. Celebrates It's Volunteers: Members take part in house dedications,
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