"Habitat for Humanity" is my second group project in CAS. This project was not included in my whole year CAS Planning document; however it was an opportuinity for me to try something new and different for my CAS activities. All of our classmates were part of this project, including three 10th graders. We were divided into two different groups. Each group was assigned to do construction work. Basically, Habitat for Humanity is a world-wide organization, which assesses people, who are sufferring from poverty, by constructing an affordable house/shelter for them. Habitat for Humanity encourages volunteers to take part of the construction work. Therefore, this time our class, as a whole, and three other 10th graders are helping to build the shelter of a poor family in Mongolia. Poverty is a Global Issue, specifically in Mongolia we can really see suffering people trying to survive. I was happy to take part of this activity, in order to prepare myself to face some of the Global concerns that are effecting millions and millions of people. In terms of my religion, it was an opportuinity to do good for others especially the ones, who are in need. As karma works, if I will do good for others, it will return in the same way. Therefore it will benefit me in the future. I was also curious about constructing houses, because I really had no idea how much effort it takes up just to make a small shelter.
June 6th was the first day. We left school at 8:50am. We came to the area, where the house was planned to be built, around 9 am. It was in the middle of a ger district in Belkht. However, the location of the construction work was not that bad, due to the fact that it was not far away from the main road. When our group, total of 10 students and 2 supervising teachers, entered the construction area, the scene was pretty bad. There was one ger in the middle of the hashaa, another small wooden house was behind the ger. There weren't a lot more inside the fence. The family had one old member, who is not mentally able to survive by himself. The only member of the family, who we talked to, was a friendly chubby lady. She told us that she has 3 year old child, who was sick in a hospital during the days when we participated in the construction work. Physically, we have dug holes for the foundation of the building. The soil was not hard, therefore it was easier to dig the holes. We have dug 20 cm deep and in the shape of a frame of a house. Because the house, we have planned to build, was not big; we did not spend too much time. After we have reached the satisfying level of the depth of the holes, we collected big rocks from a near place, where there used to be a river. Collecting the rocks involved lots of energy to carry to the construction site. The reason why we have collected rocks is because we have to use them in the foundation within the cement mix. Once we use rocks, we can save up more cement, which costs quiet a bit of money.
The next two days, we basically prepared cement mixes for the foundation. It was not easy to mix because there was water, cement, sand and gravel all together. Mixing cement involved lots of strength, therefore I had suffered from spasms of my hand. It is because physically being part of construction work was not something I do all the time. I have also understood how bad the conditions are in ger district, such as water supplies or proper equipments. The constructing equipments really were not enough for all of us. We had to take terms or use improper equipments, that we could make.
Overall, I realized how lucky I am. I realized that I should appreciate my life. I wanted to thank my parents for all of the things, they have done for me.
