Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
day build in Isla, Mexico, for example, volunteers flew to Veracruz on a Saturday, toured the
Catemaco Lake area on Sunday, built homes Monday through Friday, and then toured the Las
Tuxtlas rain forests and Olmec ruins on the second Saturday before returning home Sunday.
Chris Goodrich, one of the leaders of that Global Village trip, claims he suffers from
“infectious Habititis,” an ailment that he describes as a “disease that lets you see giving
is
getting, that you can build your own American dream by helping less lucky people build
theirs.” A full-time volunteer, Goodrich says, “I've been to the mall and drooled over those
big-screen TVs, those flat-panel plasma 'entertainment centers'…but then I look at the price
tag and say, 'Man, I could build a house in the Dominican Republic for that!'” Goodrich has
even written a book,
Faith Is a Verb
:
On the Home Front with Habitat for Humanity and the
Campaign to Rebuild America (and the World
),” about his time volunteering.
THAT'S FORMER MR. PRESIDENT TO YOU
Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, and Desmond Tutu are just three Habitat for Hu-
manity volunteers whose names you probably recognize. But the most famous Hab-
itat volunteer is undoubtedly Jimmy Carter, who every year leads a work project
for the organization. The former President first became involved with Habitat in
1984 when he and a group of volunteers renovated a six-story building in New York
City. Every year since, he has donated a week of his time. He and his wife, Rosa-
lynn, have lent their construction skills on a build in Lonavala, India, Los Angeles,
Detroit, South Korea, Mexico, Alabama, and South Africa, to name a few.
Since it was started in 1976, Habitat for Humanity's volunteers have built more than
200,000 homes in nearly a hundred countries. Millard Fuller, the nonprofit's founder, is the
quintessential volunteer. A millionaire at age 29, he realized that all the money wasn't mak-
ing him happy so he gave it all away and decided to look for a new focus. After several years
at Koinonia Farm, a Christian community near Americus, Georgia, Fuller moved to Zaire and
began building homes. He came back to the United States in 1976 and started Habitat, whose
mission is to eliminate poverty housing worldwide.
The cost of Global Village trips depends on the area visited, the Habitat for Humanity
host affiliate, and the length of the trip. Usually a 7- to 14-day trip (including everything
except airfare) runs between $1,000 and $2,200. The trip to Mexico described above cost
$1,210.
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