Last month, Habitat for Humanity wrapped up its second run of Rock the House where volunteers spent a week building six homes for families in need in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. During that time, Habitat staff also checked in with the 12 families that had homes built last year. This is the life-changing impact that it has made on Musidi and his family.
“Our house was not safe before, it was made from old materials and was so uncomfortable and unsafe. This program has changed everything – the new home is so much better! The structure is much sturdier, the floor is not just a dirt floor but is tiled and the roof doesn’t have any more holes. Everything is so much better now. Not only that, the house is not only a place for sleeping, but is now used as a community gathering area. We are so proud to have this house. It is more than we could have imagined.
Musidi’s old home
We really appreciate the work that this program does. It’s not only about the donations but also the volunteers who support us by building a home for us. That really touches our hearts and makes us feel so special. These volunteers help us so much more than they know, they bring hope to the whole community.
As for our future plans, we hope to be able to maintain the house as best we can – we want to be able to maintain the colour of the house and the painting and we want it to be as clean as possible. This house is a gift for us and we want to treasure it. It’s not easy to raise the donations to support this program and to build these houses. We feel as though we must maintain the house to show our respect and appreciation for the donations that have been raised and for all the work of the volunteers.
Musidi’s new home
During the build, the volunteers became a part of our family, and the community. Regardless of race or nationality, we all worked as one, and through working as one we were able to build an entire home, and an entire community. We worked as one – we didn’t need language because we were connected by the goodness and happiness in our hearts. We hope that the volunteers will remember us, as we remember them.”
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