HFH Australia’s Hands And Hearts Build In Cambodia
May 7, 2012
Its Goodwill Ambassador And Radio Presenter Angela Catterns Among 27 Volunteers Who Help Build 4 Houses
The Australian volunteers and HFH Cambodia home partner, the Sam family.
SYDNEY, 7 May 2012: Habitat for Humanity Australia recently celebrated a decade of sending Global Village volunteer teams to build homes and hope. Its first team of volunteers traveled to the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu in 2002 while a team more recently returned from Cambodia.
The 27-strong team who was part of the Hands and Hearts Build in Cambodia included HFH Australia’s goodwill ambassador, radio presenter Angela Catterns. Together with Habitat for Humanity home partners, the volunteers helped to build four houses in Trapaing Anhchanh comonutiy, about 13 km. from the capital Phnom Penh.
The youngest volunteer on the team was 19 years old while the most senior was 64. Among them were auditors, homemakers, legal counsels, retirees and teachers. Female volunteers outnumbered the male volunteers.
The volunteers did sanding, painted window shutters and doors, mixed cement, brick laying, tied steel wire reinforcements and carried construction materials, among other tasks.
“Habitat for Humanity organised the best overseas adventure I could ever hope for! I feel totally cared for and completely safe and thoroughly enjoyed learning new skills and realizing how a bit of time and a bit of money can change people’s lives for the better. I plan to send my husband and three daughters on various builds in the future,” said volunteer Christine Poole.
Angela Catterns (left) with Habitat home partner Por.
Angela Catterns helped spread the word by talking about her Cambodian build experience in radio interviews and at events such as High Tea for Habitat in Sydney recently. In her interview, she was asked if she received much more than she gave. “Ten-fold, a hundred-fold…it’s fantastic,” she replied. Visit HFH Australia’s Facebook page on the Hands and Hearts Build.
Earlier, several HFH Australian supporters returned to Ithahari, eastern Nepal, to revisit the community where a team of about 100 Habitat volunteers built in March 2011. The volunteers helped to prepare bamboo strips for weaving into wall panels. More photos on HFH Australia’s Facebook page.