They teamed up in four groups and started working with hammers and electric drills in hand. On the opposite side was a vast rice field, and its empty quiet was soon replaced by the sounds of nail-hammering, wood-drilling, and people’s voices. In their careers these volunteers are CEOs and representatives. But as they hammered and cut through the timber, they looked unusually well trained in the handling of tools, maybe due to their prolonged years of volunteering.
I approached Board Chair Yoon after he had been hammering for a good while, and said, “Obviously your hammering skill is above average.” He answered, smiling and wiping off sweat, “In the past, I used to weld, cement, and what not.” It was Hon. Board Chair Jung who suggested that Yoon join Habitat Korea, so in 1994 he did. For the next 20 years, Yoon participated as a board member in various volunteering projects in Korea and overseas, until four years ago when he thought it was a good time to quit. Then, last year, he came back as board chair.
The Hope Giving Houses project is the first for low-income newlyweds since Yoon was inaugurated. So far, most projects have been for elderly persons living by themselves or for multicultural families: This project for newly married couples is being carried out for the first time. Yoon said, “Land is becoming more and more expensive. The more involved people are in real estate activities, the more difficult it is for the low-income group to own houses. For this project, the local autonomous government provides the land, and Habitat builds the houses with support from corporations and individuals. We’re in the experiment together.” Habitat is carrying out a similar project with Siheung City in Gyeonggi-do. Yoon explained, “We’re not finished when we provide the houses. The new homeowners will pay back a certain amount over 20 years at no interest. This fund then becomes the seed money to buy new land for another Habitat project, making its recipients, in turn, home donors for others."
Yoon explained Habitat's activity by way of the slogan “Love in Action, Action in Love.” He said, “What volunteers achieve is great. They experience firsthand the emotional moments of new homeowners, through their own sweat as they build houses for them.”
Such circulation of benevolence is also related to the advocacy campaign “Solid Ground,” starting off this year. This is a movement to transform people’s awareness toward stable habitation and sound urban regeneration. CEO Reckford of Habitat International said, “We’ve been carrying out this campaign in 37 countries around the globe, and I’m delighted to begin the 38th campaign in Korea. We hope that in Korea, too, awareness will become widespread that everyone deserves comfortable housing.” Appointed CEO in 2005, Reckford has been part of Habitat’s activities in some 70 countries. During the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics, he was a member of the Olympic Committee and coached the Korean sculling team. This connection makes each of his visits to Korea special. He said, “Habitat Korea has been vigorous domestically, and abroad as well, building houses in Asia and Africa.”
Cheonan, where the CEOs were carrying out the campaign, is a remarkable site in the history of the Korean Habitat movement. Yoon explained, “In 2001, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn, came and together with more than 10,000 volunteers built 136 houses here in Cheonan, Taebaek, and four other sites. This made the Habitat movement widely known to the Korean public. This coming August, the “Legacy Build” project, in commemoration of the Carter Work Project, will be carried out in eight countries, starting with Korea and continuing in Thailand, Nepal, Cambodia, and so on. A large number of volunteers will be needed to participate in building the houses.”
Next week, Habitat Korea begins recruiting volunteers for the project. Yoon said with a big smile, “If you don’t hurry, it may be hard to get the opportunity to volunteer.”
Reporter Narae Kim (narae@kmib.co.kr), from Cheonan, with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo by intern reporter Shin Hyeon Ga, from Cheonan
Original Article in Korean:
“가난한 이에 보금자리를” ‘사랑의 어벤져스’ 집짓기 구슬땀: 해비타트, 천안 신혼부부 희망드림주택 사업 현장서 봉사
