For five unforgettable, almost surreal days we built walls, a home, memories and friendships!
Our Habitat for Humanity team of seven, all from California and Oregon, traveled by van two hours north from Amman to a remote rural village near Pella. But first, we had short visits to the ancient Citadel ruins of Amman, and the Roman city of Jerash.
Our Habitat for Humanity team of seven, all from California and Oregon, traveled by van two hours north from Amman to a remote rural village near Pella. But first, we had short visits to the ancient Citadel ruins of Amman, and the Roman city of Jerash.
This was my 12th International
‘build’ with Habitat for Humanity, and every one is different and
powerful. This time we knew we’d be
building for 23-year-old Yaseen, his 22-year-old wife Hadeel and their
1-year-old baby girl Besan.
We also knew that this
‘build’ would be a bit ‘rustic’; that we’d be sleeping on floor mats in a guest
house and having our meals in homes within the community, always seated on the
floor. We’d be living the lifestyle of
the village. What we couldn’t fully
realize in advance was how very welcoming and beautiful these people would be,
and what an authentic experience we would have.
And where we usually start
on the ground, this time we’d be upstairs, building walls of concrete block for
a 700-square foot, 2-bedroom addition atop the home of Yaseen’s family. All of our preparation and work was done in
that small second-floor area, so it was a very busy scene. It was open space with pillars for support
when we arrived, and – as you can see in the photos – walls were up and it was
almost ready for the roof at the end.
Temperatures were in the
90s, with not much cooling at night. The
heat seemed relentless, as did the flies, on the worksite and in our living
quarters. We had ceiling fans at night,
but no air conditioning. Loud speakers
delivering the ‘Call to Prayer’ started at about 3:30 a.m., and a chorus of
barking dogs erupted with some frequency, joined at sunrise by the crowing of a
rooster or two.
But the gracious hospitality
and warmth of these people more than made up for any of that. Four or five times a day we’d be served
sweet, hot tea, always poured from a metal pot into cut-glass cups. There were also ‘shots’ of strong Turkish
coffee. And every meal was a true
‘spread’, with as many as eight or 10 delicious home-prepared dishes laid-out
on the floor in front of us. On more
than one occasion the food was cleared, and Arabian music started. And we were on our feet for a dance party on
that same floor. I brought balloons, and
they’re always a hit.
Our Habitat host Mohammed
translated for us. And this went far
beyond directions on the worksite. We
had candid, open discussion sessions where we talked with our host families about
the differences and similarities between our cultures.
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