What an amazing week. I'm at the Bangkok airport right now on the way to Kamalaya. Internet access was very difficult at the hotel in Chaing Mai so I wasn't able to update as frequently as I wanted.
After several very hot days of building we got the house mostly built. The local Habitat organization has crews who will be finishing the building up and will move the families in by the 18th of Dec.
I never would have guessed that traveling half way around the world I would run into people I knew. It was a very pleasant surprise to find Dave Thompson and Rob Short coming to help us out when our roof construction went badly due to some miss-set roof truss brackets. It turns out the block corner our house was on also included a couple of homes from East King County. I had the pleasure of working with both of these great people several years ago while working at Microsoft. They both were fantastic and really helped us get things resolved.
Last night we were privileged to visit Pathit's current home. Pathit is the new owner of the home we built (see my last post). We took a cab to his home which is in the city of Chaing Mai. You get to his home by walking down a long dark series of very narrow allies. Along the side is the canal flowing with a stenchful afluent breading disease and mosquitos. I'll have to fill you in more when I arrive in Kamalaya.
Bye for now...
Ron
Friday, November 20, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Nov 14 First Full Day in Chaing Mai
November 14 we began our transition toward a closer connection with the people of Thailand. While it was a touristy connection, it was more direct with the common merchants, cab drivers and service providers outside of the more plush setting of Le Meridian hotel.
The bellman called for an English speaking taxi driver who would take us to the Doisuthep Temple, an elephant training camp, to a shopping area, back to the hotel, and on to the Lotus Pang Sueng Kaew hotel; all for a fixed price of 1,200 Bhat (about $33 US). Mr. Pom, our cab driver for the day, arrived shortly after the call in a nearly new compact cab. As we got into the cab we were taken by how clean the cab was and how fresh it smelled. Mr. Pom told us he cleans his cab every day and our noses told us he used a natural orange oil cleaner. It was easy to tell Mr. Pom was proud of maintaining a clean cab and providing a very friendly and comfortable ride.
A Buddhist temple and our first stop for the day, Doisuthep perches atop a mountain ridge overlooking Chaing Mai. The drive from the hotel wound through the streets of Chaing Mai along the mote of the original 700 year old city. To the sounds of the BeeGees (How do you mend a broken heart?) we pulled through busy side streets and arterials jammed with scooters, pedal and motorized rickshaws, and compact cars as we passed by a diverse mix of commercial buildings and apartments. Like many Asian cities, the sidewalks are narrow and often crumbled with rickety metal grates over the sewer openings. There seems to be almost no room between the street and the building entrances. Looking out above the arrangement of small elephant figurines and Buddha affixed to the dash of the cab, we could see a never ending tangle of wires that crisscross the streets. Slung low over the walkways, knots of smaller wires somehow split off at a variety of angles as power and communications are terminated into the tightly packed buildings. Later that night as we shared thoughts about the region, Glenn and I agreed it is a wonder that electricity and phones even work.
The buildings of the area are eclectic and most appear to be about ½ to 2/3 complete by US standards. A majority are concrete block or formed concrete structures with PVC roof drainage pipe jutting out and dead ending in mid air as if thrown into the building like a spear. Windows are pressed into the sides of the buildings in a close to square and level way, and not so flush from one side to the next. Snarls of rusty rebar and wire protruded like dead weeds from the sides of many formed concrete buildings, hinting there might have been a plan to attach something to the side that never quite happened. Corrugated tin is a close second building material behind concrete as it is used for roofs, siding and awnings. Advertisements for soda, electronics, and services are pasted to the faces of the dingy shops where you can purchase a traditional Thai meal for 30-50 Bhat ($0.85 to $1.50), purchase groceries from a family market, rest on a plastic chair for a foot massage, or go inside for a traditional oil massage for 200 Bhat (about $6.00).
As we made our way through the city we struck up conversations with Mr. Pom to learn a little more about the city and Mr. Pom.
Mr. Pom is a 20s something man who just returned to Chaing Mai from Bangkok where he had been an auditor. A single child, Mr. Pom returned home to care for his 58 year old mother and 60 year old father who had become ill. Mr. Pom is married and has a four year old daughter. His voice is full of pride as he talks of his daughter but he is quite clear that he intends to have just one child. He maintains a home of his own separate from his parents. Our language barrier did not permit us to learn some deeper details but we did learn how hard people must work for their money, how infrequent they have time off and how grateful they are of what time they do have off. You see Mr. Pom works 7 days a week from 8 am to 12:00 am driving his cab. His wife sells sandwiches at a local shop where she works 11:00am to 10:00pm 6 days a week. And Mr. Pom’s mother cares for their daughter while they both work. Mr. Pom explained that business was starting to pick up for the tourist season and he must work 7 days a week to earn money while business is up.
I asked Mr. Pom what he looked forward to doing on his “holidays” (days off from work). First he said he takes care of his father, but he really enjoys going to the temple, going to the zoo with his daughter and having barb-b-cues with his family.
Mr. Pom dropped us off at the base of the steps that lead up to the temple. The crowd there was a bustling mix of tourists and locals visiting the temple, shop keepers, street vendors and students. I found myself a bit annoyed as street vendors converged upon me to sell their wares. As I made my way past them toward the stairs I became uncomfortably aware of a woman following me up the stairs flipping through pages of art within a portfolio she carried. She kept rattling on in Thai clearly pleading that I buy a picture from her. As I kept saying no, she kept pressing saying “I am Leena. I am Leena. I am Leena.” We pressed along past the man singing karaoke, past the food vendors and proceeded up the long straight stairs looking up at the red and gold temple gates. To each side was an undulating serpentine railing with green glazed scale-shaped tiles. As we climbed higher we were met by three different groups of mostly young lady students pressed against the serpent wall in their uniforms singing out “Sas-wa-dee Ka!” (the Thai greeting pronounced sa-wa-dee ka with a long hold on the Ka), and in broken English “Please donate to our school!” Smiling politely we proceeded along up the stairs and entered the temple with an intention to help out on the trip down.
The temple was a group of buildings with traditional Asian lines in bright red gold and white with dragons peering down from the steep curved rooflines, lions standing guard at the entrances to the buildings. We walked the perimeter of the grounds taking in the views of the jungle-like mountainside over the wall that gave way to a panoramic view of Chaing Mai beneath a layer of haze that seemed to bake up from the city in the hot sun. Rows of large and small bells lined the interior side of the walkway that encircled the main part of the temple, with visitors pulling the to hear the different tones they made. We rounded the corner to find a small group of Buddhist boys playing traditional drum and cymbal music. Just beyond was a long counter staffed by monks who were selling malas (a more traditional Hindu prayer necklace). We took the opportunity to purchase malas which were blessed for us by a Buddhist monk at the counter. We also spent some time looking through one of the meditation rooms with literature and educational material about the middle-way of Buddhism, the noble truths, and meditation practices for those who come to spend 21 days at the temple. Without getting into a lot about Buddhism, it was really interesting and culturally enriching to spend some time in a Buddhist temple.
After about 45 minutes we made our way back to the entrance and began our descent, the clanging of bells and beating of drums to our back and the cheerful sing song “sa-wah-dee ka” coming up the stairs from the students. As we past we deposited 50 Bhat bills in their boxes as they sang out in thanks. At the bottom we stopped and purchased two Thai coconuts to drink the refreshing sweet water inside. I was stunned that these iced coconuts were just 20 Bhat (about 55 cents) and shook my head as I did the business model math I always do as I concluded these two men would be very fortunate to gross $100 for the day. What would be left for them to split after paying for their stall and the cost of goods? What kind of effort was involved in collecting the coconuts, cleaning and trimming them for display, and hauling ice to the stand? Perhaps they would each take home the equivalent of $10-$15. Who were their families? Where could they live while making such a small amount for such a large amount of effort?
As I reflected on the experiences of the day, the work that Mr. Pom faces each day to support his small family, the clear need for education so that people there can build a better environment for themselves, the need for funding for their schools which are poverty stricken by our standards, and my brief business model analysis of the coconut stand, I began to feel a deeper connection with the level of help that is needed in these countries who have little means for themselves.
My reflection was interrupted and I was reminded of my initial irritation from earlier that day when I spotted her. Once again I found the woman at my shoulder flipping through her portfolio of art exclaiming “I am Leena. I am Leena. I am Leena...” But this time, I heard something completely different. “I am Leena. I have a name. I am a human. I matter. I am here trying to feed my family by doing what I know to do within the skills I’ve been able to develop in my life. Please let me be relevant by simply buying one of my pictures.” Suddenly there was no irritation. There was only a feeling of emptiness as I looked down the street seeing the other Leenas there and wishing there was something I could do for them all to have a better way of life.
The bellman called for an English speaking taxi driver who would take us to the Doisuthep Temple, an elephant training camp, to a shopping area, back to the hotel, and on to the Lotus Pang Sueng Kaew hotel; all for a fixed price of 1,200 Bhat (about $33 US). Mr. Pom, our cab driver for the day, arrived shortly after the call in a nearly new compact cab. As we got into the cab we were taken by how clean the cab was and how fresh it smelled. Mr. Pom told us he cleans his cab every day and our noses told us he used a natural orange oil cleaner. It was easy to tell Mr. Pom was proud of maintaining a clean cab and providing a very friendly and comfortable ride.
A Buddhist temple and our first stop for the day, Doisuthep perches atop a mountain ridge overlooking Chaing Mai. The drive from the hotel wound through the streets of Chaing Mai along the mote of the original 700 year old city. To the sounds of the BeeGees (How do you mend a broken heart?) we pulled through busy side streets and arterials jammed with scooters, pedal and motorized rickshaws, and compact cars as we passed by a diverse mix of commercial buildings and apartments. Like many Asian cities, the sidewalks are narrow and often crumbled with rickety metal grates over the sewer openings. There seems to be almost no room between the street and the building entrances. Looking out above the arrangement of small elephant figurines and Buddha affixed to the dash of the cab, we could see a never ending tangle of wires that crisscross the streets. Slung low over the walkways, knots of smaller wires somehow split off at a variety of angles as power and communications are terminated into the tightly packed buildings. Later that night as we shared thoughts about the region, Glenn and I agreed it is a wonder that electricity and phones even work.
The buildings of the area are eclectic and most appear to be about ½ to 2/3 complete by US standards. A majority are concrete block or formed concrete structures with PVC roof drainage pipe jutting out and dead ending in mid air as if thrown into the building like a spear. Windows are pressed into the sides of the buildings in a close to square and level way, and not so flush from one side to the next. Snarls of rusty rebar and wire protruded like dead weeds from the sides of many formed concrete buildings, hinting there might have been a plan to attach something to the side that never quite happened. Corrugated tin is a close second building material behind concrete as it is used for roofs, siding and awnings. Advertisements for soda, electronics, and services are pasted to the faces of the dingy shops where you can purchase a traditional Thai meal for 30-50 Bhat ($0.85 to $1.50), purchase groceries from a family market, rest on a plastic chair for a foot massage, or go inside for a traditional oil massage for 200 Bhat (about $6.00).
As we made our way through the city we struck up conversations with Mr. Pom to learn a little more about the city and Mr. Pom.
Mr. Pom is a 20s something man who just returned to Chaing Mai from Bangkok where he had been an auditor. A single child, Mr. Pom returned home to care for his 58 year old mother and 60 year old father who had become ill. Mr. Pom is married and has a four year old daughter. His voice is full of pride as he talks of his daughter but he is quite clear that he intends to have just one child. He maintains a home of his own separate from his parents. Our language barrier did not permit us to learn some deeper details but we did learn how hard people must work for their money, how infrequent they have time off and how grateful they are of what time they do have off. You see Mr. Pom works 7 days a week from 8 am to 12:00 am driving his cab. His wife sells sandwiches at a local shop where she works 11:00am to 10:00pm 6 days a week. And Mr. Pom’s mother cares for their daughter while they both work. Mr. Pom explained that business was starting to pick up for the tourist season and he must work 7 days a week to earn money while business is up.
I asked Mr. Pom what he looked forward to doing on his “holidays” (days off from work). First he said he takes care of his father, but he really enjoys going to the temple, going to the zoo with his daughter and having barb-b-cues with his family.
Mr. Pom dropped us off at the base of the steps that lead up to the temple. The crowd there was a bustling mix of tourists and locals visiting the temple, shop keepers, street vendors and students. I found myself a bit annoyed as street vendors converged upon me to sell their wares. As I made my way past them toward the stairs I became uncomfortably aware of a woman following me up the stairs flipping through pages of art within a portfolio she carried. She kept rattling on in Thai clearly pleading that I buy a picture from her. As I kept saying no, she kept pressing saying “I am Leena. I am Leena. I am Leena.” We pressed along past the man singing karaoke, past the food vendors and proceeded up the long straight stairs looking up at the red and gold temple gates. To each side was an undulating serpentine railing with green glazed scale-shaped tiles. As we climbed higher we were met by three different groups of mostly young lady students pressed against the serpent wall in their uniforms singing out “Sas-wa-dee Ka!” (the Thai greeting pronounced sa-wa-dee ka with a long hold on the Ka), and in broken English “Please donate to our school!” Smiling politely we proceeded along up the stairs and entered the temple with an intention to help out on the trip down.
The temple was a group of buildings with traditional Asian lines in bright red gold and white with dragons peering down from the steep curved rooflines, lions standing guard at the entrances to the buildings. We walked the perimeter of the grounds taking in the views of the jungle-like mountainside over the wall that gave way to a panoramic view of Chaing Mai beneath a layer of haze that seemed to bake up from the city in the hot sun. Rows of large and small bells lined the interior side of the walkway that encircled the main part of the temple, with visitors pulling the
After about 45 minutes we made our way back to the entrance and began our descent, the clanging of bells and beating of drums to our back and the cheerful sing song “sa-wah-dee ka” coming up the stairs from the students. As we past we deposited 50 Bhat bills in their boxes as they sang out in thanks. At the bottom we stopped and purchased two Thai coconuts to drink the refreshing sweet water inside. I was stunned that these iced coconuts were just 20 Bhat (about 55 cents) and shook my head as I did the business model math I always do as I concluded these two men would be very fortunate to gross $100 for the day. What would be left for them to split after paying for their stall and the cost of goods? What kind of effort was involved in collecting the coconuts, cleaning and trimming them for display, and hauling ice to the stand? Perhaps they would each take home the equivalent of $10-$15. Who were their families? Where could they live while making such a small amount for such a large amount of effort?
As I reflected on the experiences of the day, the work that Mr. Pom faces each day to support his small family, the clear need for education so that people there can build a better environment for themselves, the need for funding for their schools which are poverty stricken by our standards, and my brief business model analysis of the coconut stand, I began to feel a deeper connection with the level of help that is needed in these countries who have little means for themselves.
My reflection was interrupted and I was reminded of my initial irritation from earlier that day when I spotted her. Once again I found the woman at my shoulder flipping through her portfolio of art exclaiming “I am Leena. I am Leena. I am Leena...” But this time, I heard something completely different. “I am Leena. I have a name. I am a human. I matter. I am here trying to feed my family by doing what I know to do within the skills I’ve been able to develop in my life. Please let me be relevant by simply buying one of my pictures.” Suddenly there was no irritation. There was only a feeling of emptiness as I looked down the street seeing the other Leenas there and wishing there was something I could do for them all to have a better way of life.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Arrived in Thailand!
We made it to Chaing Mai about 9:00pm after about 36 hours of travel. Our Horizon air flight was to leave Spokane for Seattle at 6:30 but was delayed due to a mechanical failure on the plane while it was in Seattle on the way to Spokane. The agent was very kind and moved us to an Alaska flight at 7:30 and bumped us to 1st class. After boarding and getting settled, the captain reported the Alaska flight had a mechanical error and we had to deplane J They rebooked us and we ended back on the original Horizon Q400 prop plane leaving at just after 8:00pm. I’m sure glad we had about 5 hours of layover time.
Our Eva Air flight went from Seattle to Taipai to Bangkok. The airline was quite nice and the Elite Class seats were very comfortable. We’re really happy we booked early as we got the upgraded seats at the price of coach. Once in Bangkok we took Bangkok Air to Chaing Mai and a 10 minute cab ride to Le Meridian Hotel (very nice).
After a great breakfast at the hotel, we just had a 40 minute Skype call with AT&T to try and resolve some international roaming issues on our phones. Now that is out of the way we are about to go out and tour the city for the day before transferring to the Habitat sponsored hotel (The Lotus).
Our Eva Air flight went from Seattle to Taipai to Bangkok. The airline was quite nice and the Elite Class seats were very comfortable. We’re really happy we booked early as we got the upgraded seats at the price of coach. Once in Bangkok we took Bangkok Air to Chaing Mai and a 10 minute cab ride to Le Meridian Hotel (very nice).
After a great breakfast at the hotel, we just had a 40 minute Skype call with AT&T to try and resolve some international roaming issues on our phones. Now that is out of the way we are about to go out and tour the city for the day before transferring to the Habitat sponsored hotel (The Lotus).
Monday, November 2, 2009
We have just over one week before we leave to go to the build project!
Of the scores of international trips I’ve had, I have to say I’m probably more excited about this one than other.
Thinking about this trip and what I’m about to contribute to has given me an entirely different perspective about my purpose as a human. I’ve contributed many times throughout my life at different levels. It first began through payroll deductions to a particular charity more years ago than I care to admit. Over time I wanted to find ways to contribute where there was an increased percentage of my financial contribution making it through the system to help those in need and I began looking for different charities to contribute to. In that search I eventually discovered Habitat for Humanity and was immediately attracted to the model of contribution they have.
As I’ve learned from one of my mentors, Tony Robbins, every human has six core needs. The need for certainty, the need for variety, the need to be significant, and the need for love and connection are the four primary needs that each of us has. Each of us has our own way of fulfilling these needs be it a positive way, or a destructive way, but each of us will find a way to meet these needs. Above those needs are two even greater and more powerful needs; the need to grow and the need to contribute.
One of the greatest emotions a person can experience is sense of accomplishment and pride that comes through achieving a goal. A sense of accomplishment serves one of the most important and higher human needs we have—the need to grow. For if we are not growing, we are dying. This need for growth is something that every person in the planet can resonate with, whether you look back at your greatest achievement in life, or one of your most basic accomplishments as a child. The joy, excitement, and sure pride that comes from growth can be overwhelming. Simply watch a small child when they realize they have made their first step, successfully ridden a bicycle for the first time, scored their first goal in a soccer game, or received an A on a test in a class they are challenged by. For an adult it may be getting their first job, earning a degree, buying their first car, or getting married to the person they were meant to be with for the rest of their life. These accomplishments give us a sense of belonging or importance, a sense of confidence that allows us to pursue bigger goals, and an incredible satisfaction. They deepen our fulfillment of our need for certainty and significance and are often met with adulation that deepens our fulfillment of our more basic need for love and connection or significance. This compounding effect of enriching our primary needs can make growth addictive for many and the emotions often provide us an energy that spurs us on to greater things and allows us to pursue our next greater human need, the need to contribute. Our sense of contribution gives us a standing in the world. It gives us a different kind of joy to know that we have helped someone else, or helped a cause. It connects us deeper with the people we serve and enriches our sense of self honor and self love. It provides us a sense of purpose that is greater than ourselves.
What excites me so much about Habitat for Humanity is the model it presents. Habitat reaches out to people who are in need as many organizations do. But more than that, Habitat connects those who are taking a stand in their own growth with those who want to contribute. The synergy of this model is explosive.
The recipients of Habitat homes must contribute significantly to their home. They must qualify under strict financial guidelines to ensure they are able to purchase the home and care for the home, and they must contribute significant time and labor to the building process of their own home and/or other Habitat homes. These are people who are pursuing the same dream that every human pursues at some point in their life; the dream of having a safe shelter for themselves and their loved ones. A place where they are protected from the elements, a place where they can be warm, a place they can prepare and share food, a place where they can sleep in dignity. Many of these people are willing and able to pursue this dream on their own but may be victims of circumstance that push this opportunity beyond reach. They are often people who have children to care for with serious ailments that have seriously damaged their economic viability, or they may be are citizens of an area that is economically depressed without sufficiently profitable jobs to afford the initial costs for basic housing. In spite of these challenges, these are people who continue to push themselves and strive for a home.
Habitat connects these people who are striving for their own growth with those who have found that path and are willing to help others do the same. In the process the recipients finally have more than hope, they have a realization of their dream. But more significantly these recipients are provided with a sense of dignity and growth that fuels them to reach higher in life as productive citizens of the world. In the process Habitat also provides a platform for those actively seeking a way to contribute to a cause greater than themselves, be it financially or through time and effort. At a human experience level, this synergy enriches and unites people at opposite ends of circumstance while fulfilling their highest human needs.
Beyond the amazing way this model touches people with respect to their most important human needs, the outcome of Habitat projects enrich the community involved in the build project. Habitat frequently reclaims land that has been ravaged as dumping grounds, or replaces squalor with livable homes. The recipients more often than not expand on their sense of growth by providing care to the homes and the community they worked so hard to help build. The community becomes an extended beneficiary of the outcome and receives a heightened sense of hopefulness for a future.
In the early phases of my contribution to Habitat I participated through a financial donation. Intellectually I understood that Habitat was helping people build homes and I felt good about helping out. But reflecting on this I think this feeling of goodness was not so much a genuine feeling of contribution but a sense of reducing a level of guilt for having such tremendous opportunity and reward in my life. Over time I, perhaps out of a sense of guilt, I told myself I wanted to expand this contribution a bit further through my own participation but at the same time felt hesitant. I wasn’t sure how to approach participating in a build, I didn’t think I had the skills to participate, I didn’t think I had the time to participate in a meaningful way, I didn’t have the tools I thought I would need to help, and the scarcity and fear list went on. I just didn’t have a deeper sense of what it would mean to participate directly. I just operated at a superficial, intellectual level where I allowed my analytical, judgmental and fearful mind rule my actions. So rather than step up and participate, I let this desire to participate fester and languish for several years while I contributed money to the cause as a way to be a bit more guilt free.
It was only in the past few years that my eyes and heart were opened when I participated in my first direct contribution effort while on a trip to Russia. As part of a trip arranged through the Anthony Robbins Platinum Partnership, our group visited an orphanage in St. Petersburg. It wasn’t so much an orphanage as it was a shelter for children who had been taken from families and homes that were considered abusive and unhealthy. When we arrived I was reduced nearly to tears when I saw what these children faced with for living conditions. The courageous gentleman who operated the center is a hero with little resource. Virtually blind, this compassionate man procured a place to help these kids while depending upon the economic support of a society who has, for about a century, been faced with repression and scarcity that contributed to a society with an undeveloped culture of contribution. In spite of becoming a more capitalistic society with a great influx of wealth due to oil reserves, Russia simply has not yet developed a strong sense of contribution since Perestroika was introduced in 1987 by Mikhael Gorbachev.
We knew when we embarked on our project that the Anthony Robbins Foundation had purchased some furniture we would be assembling for the orphanage, while most of the children were away on an outing. I still remember how my heart sunk when I was led to a room with others and was told “This is the room you will be responsible for.” We were standing in a small barren room not more than 15’ x 10’ with two doors. The radiant heater beneath the window was thick with dirt and dust stuck to layers and layers of aged, pealing pale yellow paint. You could feel the cold wind from the single pain windows as it fell to the floor, swirling above the cracked, torn, mildewed vinyl floor. You could quickly understand the irregular level of the floor when outside you could see the massive settling of the old church building, including many decades old broken concrete steps. The stench of urine and mold was ripe and strong.
“This room is the infirmary.”
We were told how this is the room that new children are quarantined within upon admission to the orphanage. The quarantining is important to ensure the kids who come in do not spread illness or lice to the other children until they can be confirmed to be healthy enough to join the other children. The level of dilapidation and volunteerism made it difficult for the center to be maintained at a level anywhere close to a standard of health within the US. And due to unpredictable nature of new admissions and volunteer healthcare providers, children may live in this room for several weeks sleeping on the floor. I shuddered to think what kind of conditions the kids must have lived in to be taken away and placed in this healthier and safer facility.
Somewhere around 40 of us spent that day assembling furniture and cleaning. When we completed our task we had made good progress but I couldn’t seem to shake my feelings of sadness as there was nothing we do about the cracked plaster ceilings that exposed dark voids through torn chicken wire—no doubt meant to hold back rodents. As a team we resolved to go out and purchase sheets and blankets so the children could cover up in the new beds we had assembled (a project completed the next day). But in spite of my personal horror and grief, I was quickly overwhelmed with the sense of connection, love and appreciation when I looked into the eyes of the children who were left behind for the day. While they didn’t speak a word of English, the need for words did not matter. You could see their appreciation for what we were doing, and their laughter was like music when we joked around with gestures, winks and smiles. While our achievement for the day was far below what any of us wanted to give to these children, I connected with the understanding that no matter how high my standard for living, I was able to help provide an improved quality of life and a better home for a handful of hopeful kids who’s worlds had been no more than squalor and abuse.
In that moment my excuses for not contributing with time began melting away. I knew this was something I had to do. More than that, I knew I had to be some sort of agent for helping others step out of their comfort zone and begin contributing too.
When we returned from our trip, Denise (my wife) and I began making time-based contribution a bigger part of our lives. Denise began a tradition of an annual basket brigade where we assemble and deliver baskets of food to people during the Christmas holidays, and an annual contribution of baskets to the Hope House where they have 25 apartments for low income women who are ready to leave the streets. We also began actively encouraging our employees to contribute by participating in Habitat build projects or other charities of their choice through an incentive program, resulting in a specific day for our business to collaborate as a team on building a home.
I tell you this not to receive accolades, or to position myself better than others. This testimony is to identify that I have been like the nearly 2/3rds of Americans who do not contribute but somehow made a transition to join the 1/3rd who volunteer their time to help others. It is to identify that I am no different than anyone else. I have human needs, I have certain resources, but mostly I somehow connected in a way that prompted action such that I carved out some time. It is to point out that I, like others, just needed clarity on why this was important to do and found that clarity once I did it for the first time. It is to identify that if we can all find a way to get through the chicken and egg problem, we could live in a world of great abundance and caring.
This realization has caused me to think more about contribution and what makes contribution happen. It makes me wonder more about how the beneficiaries are touched and what it means to their lives. It makes me wonder about the people who contribute and what caused them to begin contribution and why they chose the method of contribution they did. And it makes me wonder about the people who currently are not contributing and what barriers exist for them that prevent them from experiencing the kind of shift I experienced.
With this in mind I have decided that not only will I take this opportunity to contribute by building homes for the hopeful people of Chiang Mai Thailand, I will take this opportunity to understand what it means to the hopeful people who are contributing their time to help build these homes and to understand the transformations they have undergone as they went from non-contributors to contributors. Through this trip I hope to share some of their experiences in hopes to reach a few people who might, like I was, be on the fence in scarcity and fear—perhaps helping to expand the availability of help for those who are not looking for a hand-out, but are looking for a hand up.
I hope you will continue to follow my blog along as I start this journey. And I hope you will not just follow along but help me in that investigation through your comments and questions. While my blog site is a bit limited at the moment and lacks a mechanism for your participation, I hope you will contribute to my research by sending me questions you would like to have answered. I will compile these as a basis of interview questions I’ll use while I’m there working with contributors from across the globe, Habitat recipients, and Habitat for Humanity staff.
Please contribute now by click here to send me your questions
Of the scores of international trips I’ve had, I have to say I’m probably more excited about this one than other.
Thinking about this trip and what I’m about to contribute to has given me an entirely different perspective about my purpose as a human. I’ve contributed many times throughout my life at different levels. It first began through payroll deductions to a particular charity more years ago than I care to admit. Over time I wanted to find ways to contribute where there was an increased percentage of my financial contribution making it through the system to help those in need and I began looking for different charities to contribute to. In that search I eventually discovered Habitat for Humanity and was immediately attracted to the model of contribution they have.
As I’ve learned from one of my mentors, Tony Robbins, every human has six core needs. The need for certainty, the need for variety, the need to be significant, and the need for love and connection are the four primary needs that each of us has. Each of us has our own way of fulfilling these needs be it a positive way, or a destructive way, but each of us will find a way to meet these needs. Above those needs are two even greater and more powerful needs; the need to grow and the need to contribute.
One of the greatest emotions a person can experience is sense of accomplishment and pride that comes through achieving a goal. A sense of accomplishment serves one of the most important and higher human needs we have—the need to grow. For if we are not growing, we are dying. This need for growth is something that every person in the planet can resonate with, whether you look back at your greatest achievement in life, or one of your most basic accomplishments as a child. The joy, excitement, and sure pride that comes from growth can be overwhelming. Simply watch a small child when they realize they have made their first step, successfully ridden a bicycle for the first time, scored their first goal in a soccer game, or received an A on a test in a class they are challenged by. For an adult it may be getting their first job, earning a degree, buying their first car, or getting married to the person they were meant to be with for the rest of their life. These accomplishments give us a sense of belonging or importance, a sense of confidence that allows us to pursue bigger goals, and an incredible satisfaction. They deepen our fulfillment of our need for certainty and significance and are often met with adulation that deepens our fulfillment of our more basic need for love and connection or significance. This compounding effect of enriching our primary needs can make growth addictive for many and the emotions often provide us an energy that spurs us on to greater things and allows us to pursue our next greater human need, the need to contribute. Our sense of contribution gives us a standing in the world. It gives us a different kind of joy to know that we have helped someone else, or helped a cause. It connects us deeper with the people we serve and enriches our sense of self honor and self love. It provides us a sense of purpose that is greater than ourselves.
What excites me so much about Habitat for Humanity is the model it presents. Habitat reaches out to people who are in need as many organizations do. But more than that, Habitat connects those who are taking a stand in their own growth with those who want to contribute. The synergy of this model is explosive.
The recipients of Habitat homes must contribute significantly to their home. They must qualify under strict financial guidelines to ensure they are able to purchase the home and care for the home, and they must contribute significant time and labor to the building process of their own home and/or other Habitat homes. These are people who are pursuing the same dream that every human pursues at some point in their life; the dream of having a safe shelter for themselves and their loved ones. A place where they are protected from the elements, a place where they can be warm, a place they can prepare and share food, a place where they can sleep in dignity. Many of these people are willing and able to pursue this dream on their own but may be victims of circumstance that push this opportunity beyond reach. They are often people who have children to care for with serious ailments that have seriously damaged their economic viability, or they may be are citizens of an area that is economically depressed without sufficiently profitable jobs to afford the initial costs for basic housing. In spite of these challenges, these are people who continue to push themselves and strive for a home.
Habitat connects these people who are striving for their own growth with those who have found that path and are willing to help others do the same. In the process the recipients finally have more than hope, they have a realization of their dream. But more significantly these recipients are provided with a sense of dignity and growth that fuels them to reach higher in life as productive citizens of the world. In the process Habitat also provides a platform for those actively seeking a way to contribute to a cause greater than themselves, be it financially or through time and effort. At a human experience level, this synergy enriches and unites people at opposite ends of circumstance while fulfilling their highest human needs.
Beyond the amazing way this model touches people with respect to their most important human needs, the outcome of Habitat projects enrich the community involved in the build project. Habitat frequently reclaims land that has been ravaged as dumping grounds, or replaces squalor with livable homes. The recipients more often than not expand on their sense of growth by providing care to the homes and the community they worked so hard to help build. The community becomes an extended beneficiary of the outcome and receives a heightened sense of hopefulness for a future.
In the early phases of my contribution to Habitat I participated through a financial donation. Intellectually I understood that Habitat was helping people build homes and I felt good about helping out. But reflecting on this I think this feeling of goodness was not so much a genuine feeling of contribution but a sense of reducing a level of guilt for having such tremendous opportunity and reward in my life. Over time I, perhaps out of a sense of guilt, I told myself I wanted to expand this contribution a bit further through my own participation but at the same time felt hesitant. I wasn’t sure how to approach participating in a build, I didn’t think I had the skills to participate, I didn’t think I had the time to participate in a meaningful way, I didn’t have the tools I thought I would need to help, and the scarcity and fear list went on. I just didn’t have a deeper sense of what it would mean to participate directly. I just operated at a superficial, intellectual level where I allowed my analytical, judgmental and fearful mind rule my actions. So rather than step up and participate, I let this desire to participate fester and languish for several years while I contributed money to the cause as a way to be a bit more guilt free.
It was only in the past few years that my eyes and heart were opened when I participated in my first direct contribution effort while on a trip to Russia. As part of a trip arranged through the Anthony Robbins Platinum Partnership, our group visited an orphanage in St. Petersburg. It wasn’t so much an orphanage as it was a shelter for children who had been taken from families and homes that were considered abusive and unhealthy. When we arrived I was reduced nearly to tears when I saw what these children faced with for living conditions. The courageous gentleman who operated the center is a hero with little resource. Virtually blind, this compassionate man procured a place to help these kids while depending upon the economic support of a society who has, for about a century, been faced with repression and scarcity that contributed to a society with an undeveloped culture of contribution. In spite of becoming a more capitalistic society with a great influx of wealth due to oil reserves, Russia simply has not yet developed a strong sense of contribution since Perestroika was introduced in 1987 by Mikhael Gorbachev.
We knew when we embarked on our project that the Anthony Robbins Foundation had purchased some furniture we would be assembling for the orphanage, while most of the children were away on an outing. I still remember how my heart sunk when I was led to a room with others and was told “This is the room you will be responsible for.” We were standing in a small barren room not more than 15’ x 10’ with two doors. The radiant heater beneath the window was thick with dirt and dust stuck to layers and layers of aged, pealing pale yellow paint. You could feel the cold wind from the single pain windows as it fell to the floor, swirling above the cracked, torn, mildewed vinyl floor. You could quickly understand the irregular level of the floor when outside you could see the massive settling of the old church building, including many decades old broken concrete steps. The stench of urine and mold was ripe and strong.
“This room is the infirmary.”
We were told how this is the room that new children are quarantined within upon admission to the orphanage. The quarantining is important to ensure the kids who come in do not spread illness or lice to the other children until they can be confirmed to be healthy enough to join the other children. The level of dilapidation and volunteerism made it difficult for the center to be maintained at a level anywhere close to a standard of health within the US. And due to unpredictable nature of new admissions and volunteer healthcare providers, children may live in this room for several weeks sleeping on the floor. I shuddered to think what kind of conditions the kids must have lived in to be taken away and placed in this healthier and safer facility.
Somewhere around 40 of us spent that day assembling furniture and cleaning. When we completed our task we had made good progress but I couldn’t seem to shake my feelings of sadness as there was nothing we do about the cracked plaster ceilings that exposed dark voids through torn chicken wire—no doubt meant to hold back rodents. As a team we resolved to go out and purchase sheets and blankets so the children could cover up in the new beds we had assembled (a project completed the next day). But in spite of my personal horror and grief, I was quickly overwhelmed with the sense of connection, love and appreciation when I looked into the eyes of the children who were left behind for the day. While they didn’t speak a word of English, the need for words did not matter. You could see their appreciation for what we were doing, and their laughter was like music when we joked around with gestures, winks and smiles. While our achievement for the day was far below what any of us wanted to give to these children, I connected with the understanding that no matter how high my standard for living, I was able to help provide an improved quality of life and a better home for a handful of hopeful kids who’s worlds had been no more than squalor and abuse.
In that moment my excuses for not contributing with time began melting away. I knew this was something I had to do. More than that, I knew I had to be some sort of agent for helping others step out of their comfort zone and begin contributing too.
When we returned from our trip, Denise (my wife) and I began making time-based contribution a bigger part of our lives. Denise began a tradition of an annual basket brigade where we assemble and deliver baskets of food to people during the Christmas holidays, and an annual contribution of baskets to the Hope House where they have 25 apartments for low income women who are ready to leave the streets. We also began actively encouraging our employees to contribute by participating in Habitat build projects or other charities of their choice through an incentive program, resulting in a specific day for our business to collaborate as a team on building a home.
I tell you this not to receive accolades, or to position myself better than others. This testimony is to identify that I have been like the nearly 2/3rds of Americans who do not contribute but somehow made a transition to join the 1/3rd who volunteer their time to help others. It is to identify that I am no different than anyone else. I have human needs, I have certain resources, but mostly I somehow connected in a way that prompted action such that I carved out some time. It is to point out that I, like others, just needed clarity on why this was important to do and found that clarity once I did it for the first time. It is to identify that if we can all find a way to get through the chicken and egg problem, we could live in a world of great abundance and caring.
This realization has caused me to think more about contribution and what makes contribution happen. It makes me wonder more about how the beneficiaries are touched and what it means to their lives. It makes me wonder about the people who contribute and what caused them to begin contribution and why they chose the method of contribution they did. And it makes me wonder about the people who currently are not contributing and what barriers exist for them that prevent them from experiencing the kind of shift I experienced.
With this in mind I have decided that not only will I take this opportunity to contribute by building homes for the hopeful people of Chiang Mai Thailand, I will take this opportunity to understand what it means to the hopeful people who are contributing their time to help build these homes and to understand the transformations they have undergone as they went from non-contributors to contributors. Through this trip I hope to share some of their experiences in hopes to reach a few people who might, like I was, be on the fence in scarcity and fear—perhaps helping to expand the availability of help for those who are not looking for a hand-out, but are looking for a hand up.
I hope you will continue to follow my blog along as I start this journey. And I hope you will not just follow along but help me in that investigation through your comments and questions. While my blog site is a bit limited at the moment and lacks a mechanism for your participation, I hope you will contribute to my research by sending me questions you would like to have answered. I will compile these as a basis of interview questions I’ll use while I’m there working with contributors from across the globe, Habitat recipients, and Habitat for Humanity staff.
Please contribute now by click here to send me your questions
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Habitat Fund Raising Dinner
Tonight we had a fund raising dinner at Bangkok Thai here in Spokane (http://www.spokanebangkokthai.com/). The restaurant graciously provided the venue and a very affordable (and tasty) dinner so a majority of the dinner price went to the fund raiser. There was also a silent auction to help raise additional money.
Many of the items at the silent auction were cross stitch items provided by Glenn, one of the other participants going to the project. Glenn has a connection with a wonderful woman named Sirirat, who lives in a town about 200km (125 miles), near Chiang Rai. I understand that as a young girl, she grew up in a family who was not destitute as so many are there. Somewhere around 11 years of age she started noticing other girls in her class just simply disappeared. Over time she came to learn these girls had been sold into prostitution by their families who were desperate for money. She has since dedicated her life to helping provide an orphanage/shelter where these girls can escape. As a big part of this, she teaches them cross stitch and they make extremely detailed cross stitch designs on bags, table runners, clothing and other things to raise money for the orphanage. Glenn is planning a trip to visit her while there.
I had a great talk with Michone, tonight about how important it is for people to understand the challenges the rest of the world faces. We were both dismayed a bit at how prevalent it is to hear westerners complain about their situation. As Denise commented "I get mad when the avocados aren't ripe at the store." and most of the world is lucky to eat twice a day. It’s really easy for us to get self absorbed and complain about things because for most of us, our experience of life is very sheltered. The vast majority of people in the US grow up with a roof over their head, access to transportation, access to food, free education, and clothing. Even in the economically depressed areas of the US its common to have TVs, stereos, and video games. To be sure, there are many people in the US who need help and it is great to see the organizations there to help them (like Habitat). But because we live such sheltered lives filled with MTV, evening soaps, filtered “news” and “reality TV”, we are simply blind to the difficulties of the rest of the world. Until people see first hand the deplorable conditions that people in "3rd world" countries live in, it’s difficult for people to grasp how badly these people need help.
Denise and I had the opportunity to visit Chennai, India in April 2008. While there we traveled by bus into the outlying areas. I really hit me how unbelievably blessed we are when I saw how people lived 8+ to a 3 walled, tin roofed shanty with no furnishings. Outside were their children playing outside amongst trash, some squatting on the porch in front of their “home” as raw sewage flowed beneath their feet. While horrified as I considered the prospects for these peoples’ lives, I was struck by something even more amazing. As deplorable as the conditions were for these people, almost all of them had one thing in common; the ability to smile and be genuinely happy as they waived to us when we drove by. Yes there was pain in the eyes of many, but they were able to get past that and connect in happiness with complete strangers who were just driving by. They were great teachers to me of how we can simply make a choice to be happy. And at the same time it was a reminder that at a global level we need to find a way to help lift the world up.
Sadly we’re so removed from how our economy is linked to them as a supplier, and how little they get for the luxuries we consume and discard, it’s simply difficult for us to see that we have a responsibility to help improve conditions globally. On October 6, Jim Jubak posted an article on Time for Capitalism to Pay It’s Way http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/time-for-capitalism-to-pay-its-way.aspx The article does a great job of talking about “externality”—an economic concept where there is a cost or benefit to society that is not included in the price of a good or service. He sites an example of a village in China (Hengjang) that is home to a manganese smelter that seems to be releasing lead into the air, poisoning the children. The smelter sells their product to people who live thousands of miles away. Because the factory has no regulation regarding toxic releases, they are able to operate the plant very cheaply and sell their product at a low price. The people thousands of miles away enjoy the benefit of getting manganese cheaply and don’t see what is happening to the people in the village. In the mean time, the village bears the cost of the poisoning. These poisoned children are simply an “externality” of the manganese production that the consumers don’t pay for (but the village does).
Two weeks ago I was privileged to attend a conference in Calgary with an incredible line-up of business and spiritual speakers including four amazing keynote speakers; the Dalai Lama, Richard Branson, Stephen Covey, F.W. de Klerk. I was very encouraged to see a shift beginning to occur in which businesses are becoming more conscious in their actions and are helping to make the world a better place. Richard Branson spoke of some of the great work Virgin is doing to help women in Africa who have contracted a horrible disease after being raped. The disease infects them physically and causes them to smell horribly. They become outcasts from their villages. Virgin has worked to make a $150 treatment available to these women, curing them of the disease, allowing them to reintegrate with their societies. We also saw a fantastic slide show from a gentleman whose 4th grade daughter picked a family vacation to help at schools in Cambodia. I spoke to him to get ideas on what we can do when we go to Thailand to increase our impact. What I learned is that sometimes it’s not just shelter and food that helps; it’s giving people a very simple experience in life that they may never otherwise get. In his case, they brought colored chalk and some basic art supplies and allowed the kids to decorate their school—the joy on the kids’ faces was a great reminder of how easily we take our blessings as mundane and unimportant.
I have to say that of the amazing and wonderful international trips I’ve had in my life, I think I’m looking forward to this trip the most. It will be really great to work with the others, have some fun, see a new place in the world, and enjoy the warm tropical air. But this time I’m going to take some extra time to really connect with the Thai people and learn more about the challenges they face and get some ideas of how we can make some shift in our lives that can help make their lives better. And as I prepare mentally and logistically for the trip, it occurs to me that one of the best places to get a start is in how we think about what we have, how we got it, and what we can do to live for something bigger than ourselves. We don’t all have to be a Sirirat and build orphanages, and we don’t all have to be Jimmy Carters. But we all can learn to notice when we are becoming self absorbed and find something, even small like a piece of chalk, to contribute to the part of the majority of the world we never see—the majority that is lucky to have food.
Many of the items at the silent auction were cross stitch items provided by Glenn, one of the other participants going to the project. Glenn has a connection with a wonderful woman named Sirirat, who lives in a town about 200km (125 miles), near Chiang Rai. I understand that as a young girl, she grew up in a family who was not destitute as so many are there. Somewhere around 11 years of age she started noticing other girls in her class just simply disappeared. Over time she came to learn these girls had been sold into prostitution by their families who were desperate for money. She has since dedicated her life to helping provide an orphanage/shelter where these girls can escape. As a big part of this, she teaches them cross stitch and they make extremely detailed cross stitch designs on bags, table runners, clothing and other things to raise money for the orphanage. Glenn is planning a trip to visit her while there.
I had a great talk with Michone, tonight about how important it is for people to understand the challenges the rest of the world faces. We were both dismayed a bit at how prevalent it is to hear westerners complain about their situation. As Denise commented "I get mad when the avocados aren't ripe at the store." and most of the world is lucky to eat twice a day. It’s really easy for us to get self absorbed and complain about things because for most of us, our experience of life is very sheltered. The vast majority of people in the US grow up with a roof over their head, access to transportation, access to food, free education, and clothing. Even in the economically depressed areas of the US its common to have TVs, stereos, and video games. To be sure, there are many people in the US who need help and it is great to see the organizations there to help them (like Habitat). But because we live such sheltered lives filled with MTV, evening soaps, filtered “news” and “reality TV”, we are simply blind to the difficulties of the rest of the world. Until people see first hand the deplorable conditions that people in "3rd world" countries live in, it’s difficult for people to grasp how badly these people need help.
Denise and I had the opportunity to visit Chennai, India in April 2008. While there we traveled by bus into the outlying areas. I really hit me how unbelievably blessed we are when I saw how people lived 8+ to a 3 walled, tin roofed shanty with no furnishings. Outside were their children playing outside amongst trash, some squatting on the porch in front of their “home” as raw sewage flowed beneath their feet. While horrified as I considered the prospects for these peoples’ lives, I was struck by something even more amazing. As deplorable as the conditions were for these people, almost all of them had one thing in common; the ability to smile and be genuinely happy as they waived to us when we drove by. Yes there was pain in the eyes of many, but they were able to get past that and connect in happiness with complete strangers who were just driving by. They were great teachers to me of how we can simply make a choice to be happy. And at the same time it was a reminder that at a global level we need to find a way to help lift the world up.
Sadly we’re so removed from how our economy is linked to them as a supplier, and how little they get for the luxuries we consume and discard, it’s simply difficult for us to see that we have a responsibility to help improve conditions globally. On October 6, Jim Jubak posted an article on Time for Capitalism to Pay It’s Way http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/JubaksJournal/time-for-capitalism-to-pay-its-way.aspx The article does a great job of talking about “externality”—an economic concept where there is a cost or benefit to society that is not included in the price of a good or service. He sites an example of a village in China (Hengjang) that is home to a manganese smelter that seems to be releasing lead into the air, poisoning the children. The smelter sells their product to people who live thousands of miles away. Because the factory has no regulation regarding toxic releases, they are able to operate the plant very cheaply and sell their product at a low price. The people thousands of miles away enjoy the benefit of getting manganese cheaply and don’t see what is happening to the people in the village. In the mean time, the village bears the cost of the poisoning. These poisoned children are simply an “externality” of the manganese production that the consumers don’t pay for (but the village does).
Two weeks ago I was privileged to attend a conference in Calgary with an incredible line-up of business and spiritual speakers including four amazing keynote speakers; the Dalai Lama, Richard Branson, Stephen Covey, F.W. de Klerk. I was very encouraged to see a shift beginning to occur in which businesses are becoming more conscious in their actions and are helping to make the world a better place. Richard Branson spoke of some of the great work Virgin is doing to help women in Africa who have contracted a horrible disease after being raped. The disease infects them physically and causes them to smell horribly. They become outcasts from their villages. Virgin has worked to make a $150 treatment available to these women, curing them of the disease, allowing them to reintegrate with their societies. We also saw a fantastic slide show from a gentleman whose 4th grade daughter picked a family vacation to help at schools in Cambodia. I spoke to him to get ideas on what we can do when we go to Thailand to increase our impact. What I learned is that sometimes it’s not just shelter and food that helps; it’s giving people a very simple experience in life that they may never otherwise get. In his case, they brought colored chalk and some basic art supplies and allowed the kids to decorate their school—the joy on the kids’ faces was a great reminder of how easily we take our blessings as mundane and unimportant.
I have to say that of the amazing and wonderful international trips I’ve had in my life, I think I’m looking forward to this trip the most. It will be really great to work with the others, have some fun, see a new place in the world, and enjoy the warm tropical air. But this time I’m going to take some extra time to really connect with the Thai people and learn more about the challenges they face and get some ideas of how we can make some shift in our lives that can help make their lives better. And as I prepare mentally and logistically for the trip, it occurs to me that one of the best places to get a start is in how we think about what we have, how we got it, and what we can do to live for something bigger than ourselves. We don’t all have to be a Sirirat and build orphanages, and we don’t all have to be Jimmy Carters. But we all can learn to notice when we are becoming self absorbed and find something, even small like a piece of chalk, to contribute to the part of the majority of the world we never see—the majority that is lucky to have food.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Congratulations to Kamalaya Spa! http://www.kamalaya.com
I'm SO excited for our great friends John and Karina! Their Kamalaya spa won readers choice awards as #1 Spa in Asia, Favorite Spa in Thailand, and in the top 10 in the world!!!! I'm in awe of their accomplishment. Check it out at http://www.kamalaya.com/
We've only spent time with John and Karina in India. The rest has been only through the web. So I'm really excited that we will have the opportunity to experience their spa first hand when we visit them right after the work in Chiang Mai. But most of all I am super excited to get to see the two of them in person again--I miss their amazing spirits.
We've only spent time with John and Karina in India. The rest has been only through the web. So I'm really excited that we will have the opportunity to experience their spa first hand when we visit them right after the work in Chiang Mai. But most of all I am super excited to get to see the two of them in person again--I miss their amazing spirits.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Jimmy Carter Work Project Coming Up!
I can't believe how much things have changed for me. I remember when we first opened DirectBuy of Spokane, I wanted to find a way to support Habitat for Humanity. I had always contributed money periodically before Denise and I started the business. My first stab was to have some bottled waters made with custom labels that had Habitat for Humanity and DirectBuy of Spokane on them. My plan was to sell the water at a home show we were participating in. I thought since people bought water at the concession stands they would be happy to buy from us and support Habitat instead. Something didn't work right and I think we sold under 10 bottles.
We continuously gave to Habitat through our business over the coming months by donating any extra products we had to the Habitat store. Then we heard about the Blitz Build and started getting involved by donating specific items that would be installed in the Blitzt Build homes. Each year we were blessed to be able to contribute more and by year three we donated the entire lumber package, windows, flooring and more. That year we also added a special program to get our employees engaged by paying them 1/2 their normal hourly wage for any community service. To kick things into action, we worked with Habitat to have a DirectBuy of Spokane build day and we challenged our employees to join us. The project was a blast. We painted inside and out, some people helped do some trim work, others helped install dishwashers.
Last June we participated in our 4th Blitz Build and had a great turn-out by the staff. At the event was when we first learned that Habitat of Spokane was going to participate in the Jimmy Carter work project in Thailand or Cambodia or Laos (http://www.habitat.org/jcwp/2009/). They indicated they have limited volunteer spots available and asked if we would be interested in participating. Denise and I couldn't have been more excited. We love to travel and we love doing contribution work (that's a different story in itself).
Over the coming weeks, new information trickled in. By the end of August, things were pretty much locked in. The site we are going to is Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Well we're getting close now. Only about 1 month before we leave.
I hope you'll stay tuned to hear more about this amazing and worthwhile project. We plan to be posting periodically from now through the end of the trip (and maybe some more beyond that too :-) I also hope you'll take some time and look into Habitat for Humanity. It is one of my favorite charities because it goes beyond a hand-out. It is giving a hand up to people with significant challenges who are working directly on the project to build a better life for their family and future generations.
We continuously gave to Habitat through our business over the coming months by donating any extra products we had to the Habitat store. Then we heard about the Blitz Build and started getting involved by donating specific items that would be installed in the Blitzt Build homes. Each year we were blessed to be able to contribute more and by year three we donated the entire lumber package, windows, flooring and more. That year we also added a special program to get our employees engaged by paying them 1/2 their normal hourly wage for any community service. To kick things into action, we worked with Habitat to have a DirectBuy of Spokane build day and we challenged our employees to join us. The project was a blast. We painted inside and out, some people helped do some trim work, others helped install dishwashers.
Last June we participated in our 4th Blitz Build and had a great turn-out by the staff. At the event was when we first learned that Habitat of Spokane was going to participate in the Jimmy Carter work project in Thailand or Cambodia or Laos (http://www.habitat.org/jcwp/2009/). They indicated they have limited volunteer spots available and asked if we would be interested in participating. Denise and I couldn't have been more excited. We love to travel and we love doing contribution work (that's a different story in itself).
Over the coming weeks, new information trickled in. By the end of August, things were pretty much locked in. The site we are going to is Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Well we're getting close now. Only about 1 month before we leave.
I hope you'll stay tuned to hear more about this amazing and worthwhile project. We plan to be posting periodically from now through the end of the trip (and maybe some more beyond that too :-) I also hope you'll take some time and look into Habitat for Humanity. It is one of my favorite charities because it goes beyond a hand-out. It is giving a hand up to people with significant challenges who are working directly on the project to build a better life for their family and future generations.
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