Travel
Ten Days in Paraguay with Habitat For Humanity
By Richard Brendel
Buzz. That’s the goal of any good marketer. It’s the idea of taking a product or an event and making noise about it. When it catches, you hear about it from all different angles and it eventually sticks in your mind. For example, I own my own business on Folly (Flipper Finders) offering boat and kayak tours. I also work for the bands Dangermuffin, James Justin & Co and The Royal Tinfoil. If you’re not already a fan, you should be. Did you see what I just did? I just took this opportunity to create buzz for things I’m involved in.
When I booked a Habitat International trip to Paraguay, I thought I was just going to go to a poor country in South America and build houses. Instead, I went to a very rich country that also happens to be poor. This Habitat trip, deemed “Build Louder,” was not just to go and to build houses, but to create awareness — ‘buzz’ about Habitat — and their mission and the problems they are helping to solve.
Of course, it wasn’t until we got to our orientation in Paraguay that I began to realize this. We arrived as a group of people from all walks of life, sharing a common desire to help out and make a difference. Previously, I’ve been a monetary supporter of Habitat for Humanity. Like many others, I even volunteered a day of labor at the Sea Island Habitat on Johns Island. Before now, however, I had never really participated on this level of giving.
On our first day, we were educated about the issues that face Paraguay, mostly regarding housing. We visited a school/community center deep in the rural countryside. Our group quickly learned of the problems the locals here face, including how all the kids walk for miles to attend school or how only 1 in 13 kids even went to school in the first place. We then visited families in their living situation. The first house was built with old wood and logs — no floors, no real bathroom, primitive electricity and kind-of-running water. The water had only recently been brought to them by a large project backed by Coca-Cola.
A second house was that of a family whose parents had gone to the city looking for work, leaving the oldest daughter with the responsibility of raising her siblings —five or six total. They too lived in shambles, with just basic electricity and poor plumbing.
The last house we visited was a hair nicer, but not really. The old lady was very generous and proud. She started telling us her story and started crying because her oldest son had recently left to go work at the recycling plant, and two days prior had gotten his hand stuck in the machine and lost all of his fingers.
One of the common themes that kept re-occurring was the term ‘Land Tenure.’ It refers to the issue of who really owns the land that these and thousands of other Paraguayan families lived on.
The following day, our group transitioned to downtown Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay. We met with a group called ‘The Roundtable’ that was appointed by the Paraguayan government to find housing solutions. We learned that one of the problems Paraguay faces is that a small faction of wealthy people own all the land.
We next met with Paraguay’s Minister of Housing. These meetings were arranged because of the influence that Habitat International has (as opposed to the local Paraguayan Habitat). The local affiliate has made large leaps and bounds since its founding 13 years ago, but they still needed the help of the International Habitat to open these doors. As a group, we were the ones who not only got to attend, but actually participate, in these meetings. Our conversations were trying at times, because everything that was said had to be translated and repeated. I could tell that this man — this Paraguayan political figure — really cared about the housing issue but was mired in political red tape blocking a solution. As a problem solver, I felt like I had to put my two cents into the discussion.
Here I was, Captain Richard, dolphin finder/band manager, consulting a high-ranking member of the government of a South American country. Not only were they answering our questions, but they were also listening to our thoughts and ideas.
We kept having these meetings and I kept learning about the problems that faced this country, as well as many poor nations all over the world. We even made it into the national paper & I got to meet the US Ambassador to Paraguay. Check out the story here:
The primary lesson I began to grasp was that this country, while facing a huge problem with heath and housing, had taken the first step toward finding a solution, and that was that they had identified the problem. One of the most inspiring parts of the trip for me was not the politicians and dignitaries that we met with, but the actual people of Habitat Paraguay that believed in the cause of improving their country. From young to old, you could tell they cared, and every little success was a huge victory for them.
By Thursday we had finally gotten to the day I had been looking forward to — building day. It was awesome. Our group was building a bedroom. This bedroom was unattached to the main house and would house Ronny and his young family. No bathroom. We started with a small plot of land that had a tree on it that had to be cut down. Our only tool was an ax and, of course, Ronny. Ronny took to that tree like a manic and Matt Loda, co-owner of the Drop In Deli, and myself took to helping Ronny remove the tree. An hour later, after a little bit of blood and sweat, we had removed the tree and were digging a trench to lay a rock foundation. Our only tools were a couple of shovels, a pick ax, a hoe and a five-pound hammer. After two days we had the foundation laid and had to leave just as the first layer of brick wall was going up. Our time building was extremely therapeutic and rewarding.
On the final day of our trip, we traveled back into downtown Asuncion to the slums. This area was located directly in front of all the government offices. There was trash everywhere. Our tour guides were freaking out because of the safety issues presented by a group of Americans amongst the people of the slums. I found myself angry that people were living like this.
I think it was more than just anger — maybe frustration — a frustration at humanity, or maybe just political BS that they had been feeding us. What I had learned so far during the week is that Paraguay, while having accepted that there is a housing problem, has a long road ahead. I am typically a great problem solver and a very optimistic person, but as we walked around these slums, I felt at a loss. I had no solution, no advice, no nothing.
Our slum visit ended at the local community center. Several of the town people had gathered to welcome us. I knew things were about to turn around when a five-piece band made up of drums, trombones, and trumpets walked in and started playing their traditional festival music. Then the old ladies of the town got up and performed the dance they do every year during Carnival. All of a sudden, everything became clear.
The people, while they have almost nothing, had everything. Even though the people of Paraguay have a long road ahead of them, they are on the right track. The solution I realized was that Paraguay was going to have to recondition itself to a new way of thinking. The solution lies in people standing up and making a difference, like the people who work for Habitat Paraguay. Just like any movement, it was slowly gaining momentum.
I knew that our trip had been a success because it showed these people that they were not alone in their fight. That night we got some awesome news. Because of our trip to the Minister of Housing, the Paraguayan government was going to give Habitat Paraguay $50,000 US dollars to be used to make sure that the three families we visited early in the week were going to get new houses! Not only that, we helped create massive awareness of Habitat’s mission within the decision makers in Paraguay, which will further strengthen Habitat’s presence.
For anyone who has read this article all the way through, there are lots of ways that you can get involved with Habitat. For Folly Beach and James Island residents, the Sea Island Habitat has started a build off of Grimball Road, which is only a couple of miles off the beach. They are always looking for volunteers to help. Contact the Sea Island Habitat or go online and donate to their cause: www.seaislandhabitat.org 843.768.0998
Or you can volunteer or donate to Habitat International: www.habitat.org
