Team leader Bob Danbeck sent the official Build Manual and the week's calendar of work. We are expected to arrive no later than Sunday, Nov 13 and the next day will attend a welcome and orientation.
Work on the Oudong Build site, 40km outside of the capital city, begins on Tuesday, Nov 14. Volunteers will spend four days building 22 homes, a half day working on the 5.8 acre farm to help homeowners become self-sufficient and a half day making soil blocks using green technology. A closing ceremony is scheduled for Saturday, Nov 19th, the final official Habitat day for the team.
So who are these folks? Who are they, offering to travel half-way round the world to construct a block house of 339 sq ft for an unfamiliar family? They are dedicated volunteers from all walks of life. Here they are, in their own words, posted as information and photos are received.
Nancy DeVries. Lives in Oakland, NJ and runs a graphics design business, which frequently works on publications for the Paterson Habitat (NJ) affiliate. She volunteers with this group and has traveled with them to Mississippi Gulf Coast annually the last 5 years. Photo is from her 2009 work with the Carter Build in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In 2010, she was in Nepal for the Everest Build and now supports SOS Children's Village and also a school in Pokara. An avid sailor with a USCG 100-ton license, she teaches sailing, trains new boat owners, delivers yachts coastwise. Racing, cruising and offshore passages have added up 40,000+ bluewater miles, including sailing across the Atlantic 3 times. She is nationally certified EMT, married with 3 grown children and 9 grandchildren.
Marcy Shaarda. Lives in downtown San Francisco. She writes, “This is a picture of me and my companion, a resplendent camel named Michael Jackson (and that's Madonna in the foreground) in Giza, Egypt, following my first Habitat for Humanity build. I'm excited about the upcoming build in Cambodia and, as is the case with my most memorable adventures, there's also a bit of trepidation. I'm inspired daily by the world map that hangs in my office at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, where I'm employed as a social worker.”
Diane and Jim Huning live in Maine part of the year, DC part of the year, and San Diego part of the year. We are never quite sure where we are at any given time! This is our 5th HFH build and we have enjoyed them all (Hungary, New Zealand, Alaska, New Orleans (Katrina). Diane spent many years in the health field, fund raising (opera), and fund raising for a multi-lingual educational institution. Jim spent pretty much entire career at NASA's JPL, NASA HQ and then with the National Science Foundation -- retiring a couple of months ago. It has been a good run for both! We enjoy travel and have 2 kids (married, Jim's step-children) and 3 wonderful grandchildren. And, the Hunings sponsor a few children through the CCF, Cambodian Children's Fund.
Linda and David Purcell. We are long-time residents of Washington, D.C., now retired. This is our first adventure with Habitat and our third trip to Cambodia. Our friends and veteran Habitat builders, Jim and Diane Huning, asked if we wanted to join them, and it took us about 30 seconds to say “yes.” We sponsor 3 beautiful children at the Cambodian Children’s Fund [CCF] in Phnom Penh so this is a perfect chance to see them again. In 2008, we visited the Steung Meanchay dumpsite, where most of the children in CCF come from. We treasure the opportunity to help families escape that wretched, unsafe, unsanitary environment. We are also being joined by long-time friends and world travelers Neal Brengle and John Gibbons of California. We are excited to meet Bob and the rest of our team. We look forward to hard work and good fun.
Monique Kavanagh. I've lived in Toronto, Ontario for . . . a long time. A friend with whom I was on a trip to Kenya 2 years ago (we volunteered at an orphanage for 10 days) has been a Habitat GV leader in the past. He raved about the experience and thought that I would enjoy the active, outcome-oriented experience. From everything I've read and seen, he's right! I'm looking forward to working hard, two weeks of bad hair and having a lot of fun with this group. This is me in the tea fields of Kerala, India.
Michael Herrington. Owner/Chief Operating Officer of a General Contracting business that mainly engages in Construction and Facility Management of Educational facilities. The company has completed many projects ranging from the $1-$4 million dollars. He enjoys the challenges of business and completing demanding projects. Married once, divorced, and no children, with the exception of a 115 pound German shepherd named 'MAJOR' , a substitute for a child. When not working, he loves to read, travel, fly fish, and participate in almost all outdoor activities. In 2010, Michael traveled to Shenyang, China (Oct) to assist with clean up and construction at an orphanage sponsored by a local nonprofit organization and then to Bali, Indonesia (Nov) to assist with the building of a house with Habitat for Humanity.
John Gibbons and Neal Brengle: Two Californians who love to travel the world and experience its amazing diversity. Our preferred mode of travel is independent, with a focus on meeting and interacting with the people of the region we're visiting. We first discovered SE Asia about 20 years ago and are always anxious to return. When good friends David and Linda Purcell informed us about their upcoming Habitat build in Cambodia and asked us to join, we were extremely excited about the prospect and immediately began making plans. This will be our first experience with HFH and is certain to be memorable. Our first journey to Cambodia 10 years ago, has always remained one of the highlights of our world travels. We anticipate our upcoming personal interactions at the Khmer build with our team and the local people to be extremely rewarding. Photo: John (l) and Neal (r) riding a tuk-tuk in rural Thailand.
Bernard Tan: Hi, I'm from Singapore. I am an interior designer, one of the few lucky ones that work for my passion : ) I believe that LOVE is both receiving and giving, now, it's time to share. I am so looking forward to this virgin trip to the Habitat Cambodia and hopefully I will be of good help to the team in this amazing project. Thumbs up and cheers!
Jan Younker and Chuck Zwick: We are long-term residents of the beautiful Pacific NW, living in Portland, OR. Together for 10 years, we just celebrated our first wedding anniversary 9/19/11. We have 6 sons, 4 daughter-in-laws and 7 grandkids (6 girls 1 boy). This is our first HFH Build and looking forward to this new adventure and making a difference in someone's life. We love to travel, meet new people and enjoy life. Jan's passion is Dragon Boat racing which has taken us around the world for international events in clubs and on the USA National team. Jan has spent most of her career in the public school business area and now works for a non-profit agency as Program Specialist. Chuck has worked for a large aerospace company for over 36 years, in engineering and manufacturing. The return to Cambodia is with mixed thoughts: Jan's wonderful experiences in Malaysia racing and touring SE Asia with teammates and Chuck's memories serving in the Army in Vietnam during 1969. We're looking forward to meeting the team for a wonderful experience.
James Vargo: Hi everyone, I live in St. Charles Illinois which is west of Chicago with my wife Ann and daughter Jamie. As a Hoosier by birth, IU was my logical choice, spent a few years in the lumber business and then my primary career has been in the furniture industry. A few years ago good fortune let me pursue other interests and I opened a pool and spa supply store. This August we assisted our daughter in opening a ballroom dance studio. Ann is an exec, star and lifer with Xerox. Because of these two, so far jail and becoming destitute has been avoided. We have lived in many cities and my involvement with Habitat began with the Atlanta affiliate in 1998 and continued on in Austin. A hand up not a hand out philosophy while working with the families gave me a case of Habititis. In 1999 on a JCWP build in Mindanao, I was startled by the poverty and need I saw and after contrasting it to what I was working with at home decided to abandon neither but focus on out-of-country work whenever possible. With a love of travel it became a mission to weave JCWP’s and GV’s together in the U.S. and abroad. I have lost exact count. My brother and sister have joined me on occasions along with Jamie this spring in Guatemala as builder and team translator. New places, nice people, stories shared with a beverage and laughter after work is a perfect day for me. Cambodia is a return visit along with Bangkok but this adventure will continue with a trip to Burma with Nancy and then on solo to Laos. Travel safe, God Bless, see you there.
Marcy Lockhart: Hailing from Boulder, Colorado, Marci is pictured here having breakfast at our Phnom Penh hotel, the Goldiana.
