From this Monday Onwards From this Monday onwards, the Associa�ao Humanit�ria Habitat is entitled to a weekly space in a very well-known newspaper in Braga. Not just any space, though, but almost the whole second page. I leave you parts of the article that I wrote for that space. It is focused mainly on volunteers, because the affiliate is currently in great need of them. Since the beginning of June, a place called Lugar da Oritgueira, located in Palmeira, has been subject to many changes. Who went there in the beginning of May, and goes there again now, some few months later, will not easily recognise the place. From an empty piece of land have emerged, up to now, two buildings of four units each, and the foundations for another one. Together, they compose twelve houses for twelve families in need. This building project, called �Portugal Build 2000� , is the greatest challenge yet for the Associa��o Humanit�ria Habitat... The year 2000 marks, in a sense, the coming of age of the Association, with this spectacular challenge: twelve affordable houses build in a short frame of time. This could not be possible without the donations and sponsorships of various companies and individuals, as well as without the effort of volunteers. Sponsorships provide the low-cost construction; volunteer work the short frame of time... Out of my experience, I know that whenever reference is made to volunteer work, some faces will wonder as to whether I am really serious or believing what I am saying*. To start with, volunteer work is not very common in Portugal. But things are even worse when reference is made to a particularly hard and specialised type of work, like construction (how do you build a house if you never learned how to build?). Well, in the first place, not every task connected with construction is really heavy. Think of painting, gardening, cleaning the site, among others. As for previous experience, it is totally irrelevant. Palmeira has already been witnessed to teachers, students, lawyers, all working together in something that they were not ever trained to do. There is always someone in the field who tells people what and how to do. The one thing that volunteers are obliged to take with them is not experience, but willingness to give their sweat away for a fair cause. From the beginning of construction, there have already been in Palmeira some 90 volunteers, with ages varying from 16 to 60. It is thanks to them that the Lugar da Ortigueira is not unrecognisable. National volunteers, and a lot of international volunteers, people that left a mark on those who met them through their determination and willingness to help: paying their trips, their accommodation, and coming to work on their holidays. At this moment, the presence of volunteers in Palmeira is essential. Just as it was in the beginning, just as it will be in the finishing phase. The aim is that the twelve families may be able to spend a different Christmas, away form falling ceilings, houses with no running water or electricity, or where leaking walls embrace children with illnesses and the cold of winter is unbearable. To fulfil this objective, help is needed. Not a lot. A couple of hours, depending on one�s free time. Some time just to give a sense to the word solidarity. Number are here to prove that these moments work: almost 100,000 houses have already been built world-wide since 1975... This Monday, when Correio do Minho** kindly allows to inaugurate this weekly space, I take the opportunity to leave the alert and the invitation for you to join us. I hope you can take it. See you next week or one of these days in Palmeira *This has a lot to do with Portuguese mentality. Voluntary work is not really common or believed to be serious in its accomplishments ** Name of the newspaper
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