International Team Tops Out Habitat’s 200,001st House In India

August 9, 2005

KUTTAPULY, 9th August 2005: “I’ve never laid bricks before, but it was fun. The day went by really fast,” said Pryanka Kripalani, a youth volunteer from Mumbai, India.

Pryanka is working with a team of international volunteers and local masons that are building five houses in Kuttapully, in the southern tip of India. One of them has been designated Habitat for Humanity’s 200,001st house.

A world of volunteers: El Salvador-ian student Andrea Arevalo (center) helps lift wet concrete during construction on one of the houses built during the 200,001st house event

Two other families benefit: Homeowner Menaga in front of her Habitat house which was the test build house for the 200,001st build event. Sathlesh and his wife Waheeda (center) and daughter Shakila and son Rubilston pose in front of one of the homes under construction

The five houses were at different stages of completion when the volunteers arrived. All of the volunteers will have the opportunity to work on the 200,001st house, but Pryanka’s team is trying to catch up to the others. On Monday when they started building on Antony and his wife Georgeammal’s house, they began with a bare foundation; other houses had partial walls.

Roof’s on: 200,001st Habitat homeowner Michel with one-year-old son Hayden in front of the 200,001st house

A gathering of nations: (from left) Student volunteers Daniel Hernandez from Mexico, Andrea Arevalo from El Salvador, Karen Tataryan from Armenia, with Julius Wejuli (seated) from Uganda, pose for a photo at the sea shore on the southern tip of India

Today, villagers and volunteers were glad to see the last of the roof tiles placed on Michel and Vivitha’s home, the 200,001st house. With the experience of one house under their tool belts, the roofing crew will move on to two houses on Wednesday.