Global Village Team Prepares for Week-Long Build in Vietnam

Preparations are underway for a Global Village team from Habitat Greater San Francisco to hold a week-long build in Vietnam, part of a new partnership formed with Habitat for Humanity Vietnam. In May, the team will join families in Hiep Duc, near Da Nang in Central Vietnam, to build simple, decent shelter for them and their neighbors. The region is one of the poorest in the country and is highly vulnerable to disasters like typhoons during the rainy season. Powerful Typhoon Ketsana swept through central Vietnam in September 2009, killing 30 people, collapsing 15,200 houses and damaging the roofs of 155,000 households. Habitat Vietnam was quick to respond, providing secure roofs for 662 households there and five new homes by June 2010.

As an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, Habitat Greater SF tithes 10 percent of its unrestricted funding to international build efforts each year. Since 1990, Habitat Greater SF has tithed more than $1.2 Mil. to Habitat affiliates outside the United States (in Honduras, Mexico, Haiti, Chile and others), serving about 50 international families each year. As Habitat Greater SF’s new tithe partner, nearly $100,000 is expected to be tithed to Habitat Vietnam this year.

Amy Skeeters-Behrens: “On the culinary side, I am looking forward to lots of Pho!”

The Global Village team of 20 includes Habitat Greater San Francisco staff, board, AmeriCorps, and regular volunteer members, as well as team leader Amy Skeeters-Behrens, General Manager of eBay Giving Works. Team members are each responsible for contributing or fundraising $2,000 for the trip.  

“A few years ago, I led a trip to Bolivia. Nine of us spent a week building a house alongside the family and Habitat staff there. It was a wonderful experience. When the opportunity came up to plan this trip to Vietnam, I jumped at the chance!”

Amy Skeeters-Behrens
Team Leader

Donations:
Online at www.firstgiving.com/5435.

Little Green Cyclo Truck

Little Green Cyclo , a local Vietnamese food truck, is supporting the trip as its Charity of the Month for March. For every sale of a special menu item, $1 will be donated to the trip. To find the truck, check out their website at http://www.littlegreencyclo.com/ or follow them on Twitter @lilgreencyclo.