Volunteers From US National Association of Realtors Build In Thailand * * * First Of Many Teams From Strong Supporter Of Habitat’s Tsunami Rebuilding Program -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
August 5, 2005Volunteers From US National Association of Realtors Build In Thailand * * * First Of Many Teams From Strong Supporter Of Habitat’s Tsunami Rebuilding Program
|
Wire work: Mike Owen, Ed Taylor and Martha Ramirez prepare one of the support beams
|
KHAO LAK, 5th August 2005: Ten volunteers from the US National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that real estate starts from the ground up when they spent nearly two weeks building a house in Khao Lak, southern Thailand for a tsunami-affected family.
Battling daily rains and working often in stormy weather, the group completed up to the house’s roof level for homeowner Urai Yotharak.
The team began at the beginning when they started in the last week of July, leveling the land, laying foundations, installing a septic tank, laying bricks and painting roof tiles. By the end of the fortnight, the six women and four men in the team had almost completed Urai’s new home.
The team included 6 women and four men who traveled from different cities in the US, including Alaska, California, Hawaii and Florida.
For homeowner Urai it was a special occasion to work alongside the volunteers who came to rebuild her life after the December tsunami turned her life into a nightmare. Her husband was killed as the waves crashed into the beach resort construction site where he was working.
|
Sweat equity: homeowner Urai pours the last bucket of cement into the foundations of her house.
|
Urai, a cook in the resort, was left her without a job as well as a husband. She had no means to support herself and her children, 20-year-old Yad and Boon Long, aged three.
“I am so happy to see all the people come here to help my family,” she said. “We can start a new life with this house.”
Charelene Vincent, the NAR team leader from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, said, “It has been an overwhelming experience being here. Coming from the US where everything is available to us, we now appreciate how people here make do with what they have to work with, which at times is very little.
“We basically built a house by scratch, with no power tools, by hand. We were not sure in the beginning how it would all work out but at the end of each day we could see the results of a house taking form before our eyes.
“We would figure out each day, learning along the way and it all worked. It was a great experience for us all.”
Sarah Krantz, a former school teacher, also from Massachusetts, said, “It has been a rewarding experience for me to see our efforts each day. We see the walls going up, people working together. The homeowner Urai sees her house going up with each day.”
“The people of Khao Lak are truly amazing for all they have been through. I have met some amazing people here and shared tears with them as they told me their stories of loss of friends and family. I have been very touched by this experience.”
Other team members came from Alaska, California, Hawaii and Florida
|
Rewarding: the NAR team (back row from left): Chai Sutrong (HFH staff), Mike Owen, Joan Matecon, Martha Ramirez Seth Heuiser, Ed Taylor, Sarah Krantz,, Larry Swenson, Diane Swenson; (front) Suntorn Klonglomprio (HFH staff), Betsy Owen, Anne Tabor, Charlene Vincent, Sarah Blackwell
|
Washington DC-based NAR is the largest property trade association in the USA with about one million members. The organization is a strong partner and financial contributor towards Habitat for Humanity’s tsunami rebuilding program. The Thai volunteer team is only of many expected in the coming months.
|