Maeve urges local people to volunteer

Her call comes ahead of Habitat NI launching their volunteering opportunities for 2014.

Maeve travelled to Ethiopia in July 2013 as part of a Habitat Global Village volunteer team to help build homes alongside future homeowner families.

“Volunteering with Habitat NI was one of best experiences of my life,” said Maeve. “It was so rewarding to be part of a team and work alongside the future homeowner families. It was a privilege to work alongside truly inspiring women in the local community who were determined to build a better future for their families. It gave me a true sense of how something so simple as a decent home can have a huge impact on a family.”

In 2014, Habitat NI have similar volunteer opportunities open to any individual or small group to destinations including Ethiopia, Cambodia, South Africa and Romania. Special builds including a Women Build in India are also being organised. This unique event will bring together women from all over the world to work beside local women and learn about the impact of poverty housing first hand.

Speaking about her experience in Ethiopia, Maeve said: “It soon became clear that we weren’t just building homes, we were giving them the hand up they needed to build their own way out of poverty.

“It reaffirmed the unique impact of Habitat’s work on vulnerable people. I would thoroughly encourage everyone in the local community to get involved in this life changing experience and volunteer with Habitat NI in 2014.”

As well as teams where individuals like Maeve can join, every year groups from schools, churches, businesses or family and friends form their own team and embark on the volunteer journey together. For example, this summer a team of students from Wallace High School formed their own team and travelled to Malawi.

Habitat is hosting information sessions for individuals or groups interested in finding out more. The next session will take place on Thursday November 21 at 7:30pm at Habitat ReStore, Riverside Centre, Lisburn. Other dates and full details of the 2014 opportunities are available at www.habitatni.co.uk or by emailing [email protected]. If you would like to find out more about how you can support Habitat’s work by fundraising or making a donation please visit habitatni.co.uk or call 9263 5635.