By: Maxine Duminy, Kyla Uy and Sandy Agustines, Year 12
What is it that makes you happy? Is it collapsing onto your bed after a long day at school? Playing your favourite sport? That first bite into your favourite meal?
At Habitat For Humanity, it is the act of giving back that rewards us. It is lending our hands and building together as one that satisfies us. It is making an impact – helping our community – that humbles us every time.
Habitat for Humanity is a volunteer-based ASA that strives to make a positive change within the local community. Through regular visits and provision of building assistance, the team lends their services to help build or rebuild homes, bringing communities closer together and promoting a sense of hope. Our builds are often held in rural areas across the Metro, where we spend our Saturday mornings constructing and painting houses, as well as interacting with the area’s community. During these sessions, they voice their needs and concerns to us and in turn, we decide on feasible solutions to help. In BSM, our team organises fundraisers to finance these builds and other Habitat-sponsored projects, such as Cookies for Humanity and the Coin Bank programme that was launched in term one.
So far, we have accomplished the following:
- Our first build at Bistekville 4, Quezon City: the team spent the day painting houses, partaking in manual labour by carrying cement blocks to help build the foundations of a new building at the site. Following our building session, the team had discussions with many of the residents, regarding their standards of living and the problems that they wished to be solved, e.g. lack of water and electricity.
- Cookies for Humanity: In order to raise funds, Habitat sold and delivered cookies to the student body. Over the duration of this week, this fundraiser enabled the team to supply and prepare for builds.
- Coin Bank Initiative: the coin bank initiative started in early November and lasted until the end of term 1. Every student was given a habitat coin bank, which he/she was to fill in due time. The funds that were raised were to sent back to Habitat to continue home development in areas in Quezon City.
The future of Habitat is a promising one. With an educational programme coming up this February, we hope to encourage more students to come and support our mission.
Habitat For Humanity has evolved into more than just an ASA. It is the exuberance of the Filipino culture that influences our capacity to willingly help those in need. Despite having so little, the infectious, kind-hearted nature of our people is admirable.
BSM’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity has enabled us to spread a sense of renewed hope within these communities and make them, and us, feel whole again.
Join Habitat for Humanity! We will be having occasional meetings, which will take place every Thursday (Week B) from 2:40 - 3:30 in Ms. Seed’s room. Get in touch with us via kyla.uy@britishschoolmanila.org or allegra.dom@britishschoolmanila.org!
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