Okay, so now that we've shared our exciting news with you, now's the time and place for details!
We'll be joining a
team of 20 or so Canadians who will come together for the first time in
Accra, the capital city of
Ghana, on November 24. After a night of getting to know each other we'll head to a community outside of the city where one of
Habitat for Humanity Ghana's local affiliates is based (we'll find out which community in late September/early October). Here we will meet with the local community and learn about how we will help them build several homes alongside families in need.
For those who aren't familiar with Habitat for Humanity, the program is relatively simple. The organization works in local communities to assist working families who live in substandard and often unhealthy conditions who really just need a simple, decent place to live. These families are hard working and earn an income, but not enough to qualify for a conventional bank loan. As part of the partnership agreement, each family—with the help of volunteers like us—spends hundreds of hours building their home. Once the house is ready, they move in and begin paying for it through a no-interest loan from Habitat for Humanity. These mortgage payments then “roll over” and help finance houses for other families. Having families contribute to the building of their homes and those of their neighbours, and then pay for them with reasonable terms, instills self-esteem and the pride of homeownership. Habitat for Humanity refers to this as a hand up, not a handout.
In Ghana, we will spend just over two weeks living and working alongside community and family members to help build several homes. We will sleep in simple accommodations, likely on an inflatable mattress in one of the finished Habitat homes and will eat meals prepared by local women. Washroom facilities will be outhouses and showers will either be out of a bucket or solar showers.
As you may imagine, traveling to Africa through this program is not inexpensive. To begin, the program fees will be $1,600 each which will cover lodging, food, ground transportation, traveler's medical insurance, orientation materials and a donation to Habitat Ghana and the
Global Village program. In addition to the program fees we also estimate our airfare will be upwards of $2,300 each. Our goal is to raise $8,000 to support our home building efforts for the local Ghana community.
So, we're looking for your support! Here's how you can support our work and help fund the homes we will help build in Ghana . . .
Donate
(Donations of $20 or more are eligible for a tax deductible receipt)
Online: Click
here.
1. Type in the amount of your donation, and select the frequency - One-time or Repeating.
2. Next under Fund / Designation, select 56. CA07109 Ghana to choose our project.
3. In the Message Box you can also add our names and the trip code (CA07109 Ghana) just to be safe.
4. Fill in the other boxes as required, and continue through the pages. NOTE: No transaction will take place until you are satisfied with the information you have provided.
5. Once you have finished filling everything out, click the Submit button. Only click once and leave your computer for a few moments until the transaction is complete, about 30 to 60 seconds.
6. Thank you! - your donation will be complete, and a receipt will be sent to you by e-mail within a few minutes.
By Phone:Call 1-800-667-5137 ext. 248
Please tell the operator our names and quote our Global Village Trip Code - CA07109 Ghana
By Mail:We can accept donations by credit card or cheque by mail. Cheques can made payable to Habitat for Humanity Canada. Please include your mailing address and cheque/credit card information and we will submit these donations to Habitat for Humanity Canada every few weeks.
Please send mail to:
Brandy & Bruce
2310 Fernwood Road
Victoria, BC V8T 2Z5
Lend a Hand!
Scroll down on the right hand side of this page and check out our Google Calendar. This will keep you up-to-date on all of our fundraising activities and give you information about how you can get involved. We'd love to have your support and helping hands with our Bar Candy Blitz's, car washes, BBQ's, garage sale, raffle etc. so drop us a line if you'd like to help out!
