Ground Breaking Ceremony
9 June 2000, by Rita Cruz

Saturday, the 27th of May, was a very special and important day for the Portuguese affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI). It marked the official inauguration of the land on which the 12 houses of the Palmeira project will be built. Among the people present were Dr. Silas Pego, President of the Board of Directors of the Braga affiliate; Dr. Cl�udio Alves, President of the General Assembly of Habitat in Braga; D. Jorge Ortiga, Archbishop of Braga; Joao Nogueira, city councillor, Joao Russel, President of the town Council of Palmeira; Dr. Ana Cl�udia Ferreira, Executive Director of the Braga affiliate; Priest Adriano Teixeira; Reverend Jos� Gon�alves; Clive Rainey, the longest standing HFHI volunteer, the prospective homeowner families and our second Global Village Team from the USA led by Carol Pfleiderer.

The ceremony started with speeches by several of the invited dignitaries; people who were invited in order to highlight the international nature of the humanitarian organisation with which the Associa�ao Humanit�ria Habitat is affiliated. Speeches were hope-raising, in the sense that they showed how Habitat is beginning to be known and talked about not only in Braga but in Portugal.

The presence of the archbishop of Braga at the same ceremony with a Protestant pastor was also a very important part of the ceremony, representing the ecumenical Christian identity of the organisation.

He came to bless the land and to provide a living demonstration of his support for the important humanitarian work Habitat in Braga is developing.

The ceremony ended as all speakers picked up a shovel and, in a symbolical gesture, shallowly dug the land.

Later in the afternoon, the symbolic gesture would be repeated by the families of the project. Expressing their anxiety to start working in what are going to be their new houses, members of the families picked up a shovel and started digging, while everybody laughed and clapped

at their enthusiasm. The laughter would turn into tears in the eyes of Mrs. Rosa, who still finds it hard to believe that she will have a decent house of her own.

The celebration, which started at two o�clock in the afternoon, only reached its end around six. While it lasted, it was a precious time for people to get to know each other, namely the new members of Habitat, the families and the Global Village Team, and for everybody to exchange ideas and comments. Because only two of the Global Village Team speak Portuguese, and the families hardly know any English, communication was not always easy. Nonetheless, the humanitarian bond that ties them, the commitment to the same objective, made every effort worth while.

At six o�clock the ceremony ended, but not the work within the Braga affiliation. It was then time for an informal meeting intended to decide on some specific matters for the weeks ahead. It�s time to start building the houses!

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