2011 started off with a bang for Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka’s HRC West. 18 International Global Volunteers representing the United States of America and Canada along with Sri Lankan Volunteers and family members of home owners very enthusiastically joined to build four houses at Kadol Uyana, Negombo, along the west coast of Sri Lanka.

The International team was led by stalwarts of HFH Builds Ms Leslie and Bob Bell of USA. It was their 39^th build for HFH and they shared their experiences from volunteering in many countries around the World with the volunteers on this trip.  Their wide experiences not only helped the rest of the team in their work but also offered our local staff a learning opportunity to expand and develop their capacity in leading Volunteer Teams.

The manual work planned for the build included work items such as concreting of home floors, plastering of walls, fixing roofs, doors and windows etc. All volunteers very willingly and enthusiastically participated, involving themselves with the different tasks allocated to them. One of the notable acts that caught everyone’s eyes was that home owner’s small children too joined the build after normal school hours. The volunteers were provided refreshments every few hours by the Home Owners so that they would not feel the brunt of the hard manual labor they were involved in on a daily basis.

On 13^th January 2011, the final day of the build, the US Ambassador Ms Patricia Butenis graced the occasion of the Dedication Ceremony as the chief guest. The Lord Mayor of Negombo Mr. Hermond Cooray also participated at the handing over ceremony for the two houses in which construction was complete. The Ambassador cut the ribbon and handed over the completed houses to the Home Owners. It was a proud moment not just for the Home Owners but also for the volunteers, who had given so much of their time and energy in ensuring these families had a safe place to call home!