43 Donors

$300

$275

$265

$250

$250

$250

Top Donor

William Wolcott

$500

About Me

Welcome to my Global Village trip page!I am excited to be leading my first Habitat for Humanity Global Village trip to Portugal in March of 2013.  From March 23rd to the 1st of April, I will come together with a team of individuals from all over the United States to build a home in Amarante;Northern Portugal, In 2008, I made a commitment  with Habitat to volunteer on my first build to Santa Fe New Mexico and since then I have never turned back. Four builds later I am honored to be leading my first trip back to one of my favorite places.

About Our Team

Housing is a major concern of poor Portuguese families, who often live in dilapidated homes in rural areas or shacks in the big cities. Successive governments have liberalized key areas of the economy over the past 20 years after decades of military dictatorship, but economic growth has been slowing since 2001. The recent financial crisis left many people without jobs or savings to improve housing conditions.

At the same time, the need for housing is growing, especially in urban areas. The state cannot support the development of new social housing units. And Portugal has been a destination for emigrants since the late 1970s, when people from former African colonies and Brazil began arriving. More recently, in the 1990s, emigrants from the Soviet Union found refuge there.

 How Habitat addresses the needHabitat for Humanity in Portugal helps low-income families by building new homes on family-owned land and by renovating houses in the towns of Braga and Amarante. Homes are made of traditional local materials: bricks, red roof tiles, shutters on the windows, and ceramic tiles inside. Recently, the Habitat Portugal has been looking for local opportunities to raise funds to build more simple and decent homes.

We invite you to join our Global Village team in partnering with families in need to help build safe, affordable, decent homes. There are many ways to be a part of this vital project. You can donate to an individual team member, and you can also share this cause with people in your network. By clicking on the “Share” buttons at the upper right of this page, you can share a link and information about this page on Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and other social media sites. You can also use the email tool to invite others to join in partnering with families in need.

Visit this page often. We will post updates, add video and photos, and keep you informed about our progress in Portugal. Working together, we can create positive change. Thank you for becoming a part of the Global Village experience!

About Global Village

Global Village is Habitat for Humanity’s international volunteer program. Teams travel to over 40 countries to work alongside communities, build housing solutions, and experience local culture. Our goal is to change the lives of the people we serve, as well as the lives of the volunteers.

To join a team or learn more, visit www.habitat.org/gv.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has created more than 600,000 housing solutions by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.

Conversation