A Global Village International Trip

Global Village (GV) is the international arm of Habitat for Humanity.  Its mission is to provide affordable housing to individuals in impoverished areas through the support of international volunteers working hand in hand with local GV employees.

The Local Affiliates – GV does its work through local chapters that coordinate the action on the house-by-house level.  Teams volunteer with a specific affiliate in a country of their choosing and coordinate their preparation until the time of the trip with the employees of the affiliate.  The work of the affiliate continues year round, even when there are no international volunteers.

A GV Trip – Almost anyone can volunteer to be a part of a GV team.  A team is usually composed of 10 – 15 members, sometimes from a single organization, other times from across the world.  These individuals travel at their own expense to work with an affiliate for a period of about 2 weeks.  Typically the team spends about 7 full days on the worksite of one house that is under some stage of construction when they arrive.  The free days of the trip as well as the nights are usually planned with the goal of gaining a greater understanding of local culture and the individuals with whom the team will be working.

Donations/Costs – Each GV trip is asked to make a donation ($250/student, $300/adult) to the local affiliate in order to provide the financial support not only for that trip but also for the coming weeks after the team has returned home.  The team will also have to pay for its accommodations (usually fairly rustic) as well as food and any activities it might undertake while in country. 

On Site – Each worksite will have on it trained professionals to help direct the team and provide assistance wherever it should be needed.  Safety on the worksite is the number one priority and team members will never be put into a situation without proper supervision or instruction.   In addition ample food and fresh water will be available any day that the team is on the site.  The site will likely also have members of the family that will soon be living in the house as well has members of families who have received a GV house in the past.

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