By Chris Beswetherick
The Whatcom chapter of Habitat for Humanity prepares for a build trip to Costa Rica from March 18 to March 26 and invites anyone interested to attend their Q&A on October 17 at the Cornwall Habitat for Humanity. At this Q&A, anyone unsure of the program can learn what it takes to participate.
During the trip, 14 volunteers will meet the inhabitants of San José, Costa Rica to help with building shelters and explore the country.
Habitat for Humanity employs a program known as the “Tithe Program” which was conceived from their Christian background. The program partners Habitat Global Village, their international branch, with religious countries. Costa Rica is part of this program, meaning 10 percent of the donations received for the trip are directed to churches and the Habitat’s ministry.
“It’s a build trip. We are going to build,” Whatcom Habitat for Humanity publicist Holly Harkener said. “Costa Rica is a Tithes partner, which makes it a global village trip.”
This trip, therefore, is a part of the international branch of Habitat for Humanity. Sara Bond- Yancey leads this trip, and has been a captain of many build and global village trips in previous years. Bond-Yancey recently moved to Bellingham and has started growing Whatcom’s chapter with her experience.
“We have only done one other trip like this,” Harkener said. “What makes it unique is that we are doing it at all. [Bond-Yancey] is from Habitat for Humanity international, so she really knows everything about this trip.”
At the Q&A, Bond-Yancey will accept any relevant question to the trip and the organization with pleasure.
“She’s heard them all, she can answer any question,” Harkener said. “We always find people have questions because it is such a big deal to travel [so far.]”
Traveling and joining missions like this often means a daunting price tag, but in the past, Habitat for Humanity has raised an excess of money for their trips, meaning anyone who wants to go can.
“Bond-Yancey has done fundraising for this so many times, so if anyone really wants to go, there should be no reason not to,” Harkener said. “People are able to fundraise enough for it, and Sarah knows how to best present oneself [to do so.]”
Habitat for Humanity creates a team page for the volunteers which also doubles as a platform for crowdsourcing. Unlike other crowdsourcing sites, Habitat for Humanity directs 100 percent of donations to the volunteers and the team. The fact that Habitat for Humanity hosts the donation page lends credibility to the volunteers, which will hopefully attract donors who are a serious asset for the organization.
Lauren Clark, a sophomore at Western, has worked with Habitat for Humanity in previous years where she learned how to build a shed. Her friend inspired her to contribute to the organization because of the company’s model and their feminist program “Women Build.”
“Habitat for Humanity is the place where you build houses and other things for people in need,” Clark said. “We learned how to build from a group of women.”
Sometimes, a mission does not witness much progress in the short amount of time they spend on location, but for this trip, Costa Rica has a different model for building that installs prefabricated walls, rather than walls requiring strong foundations. This means, in one week, the volunteers will clearly know their impact.
Habitat for Humanity wants more participation from Western students, and the Q&A will help anyone become inspired and make sense of the trip.
