Building houses, building bridges

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This article was published 09/07/2016 (3440 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Instead of taking volunteers across town to build a house, bring the house to them.

A plan hammered out last summer between two “slightly bored” south Winnipeg men will do exactly that — build a house in a St. Vital church parking lot for Habitat for Humanity with volunteers from 10 area faith groups.

“It’s partly the travel (to a downtown site) and it’s also the visibility. We want people to see it being built,” explains Orly Friesen, who is co-ordinating the St. Vital interfaith Habitat project with fellow Faith Lutheran member Alf Horn.

Over coffee last August, the two retired 74-year-olds drafted a plan to raise money and construct a house for the non-profit organization exclusively with members of faith communities in St. Vital.

They contacted 25 churches, mosques and temples, and received financial or moral support from about half, with several congregations passing on involvement because of previous commitments to sponsor Syrian refugees.

“The need is so great and the Habitat interfaith build has been such an inspiration for me,” says Horn of the community fundraising efforts, which raised $75,000 in cash and services.

“We’re supplying affordable housing for a needy family and getting to know the other churches in the community.”

Initially hoping to build in southeast Winnipeg, Friesen and Horn abandoned the idea when they couldn’t find an affordable lot in the area, and decided instead to build a ready-to-move house.

Over 10 days beginning Monday, hundreds of volunteers will build the three-bedroom bungalow on temporary beams on the parking lot at St. Vital Evangelical Mennonite Church, 2005 St. Mary’s Rd.

Moving the home to its permanent location on Ross Avenue West adds about $10,000 to the $175,000 project, says Habitat CEO Sandy Hopkins, but that cost is offset by the build’s visibility.

“We’re an organization that has tremendous name recognition but little organizational awareness,” he says of the charity, which built its first house in Winnipeg in 1988.

“Usually we do this for marketing purposes in high-profile places.”

In addition to the money raised in St. Vital, another $100,000 was donated specifically to a faith-based project by private donors, including the Ursuline Sister of Tildonk Inc. and Wall Grain.

Habitat for Humanity was established in 1976 as a Christian response to the need for safe and affordable housing. Although the international organization maintains that Christian identity, the Canadian arm has since broadened its mandate, says Hopkins.

“The view was that it would have more appeal and help more families if we were a secular organization rather than a religious one,” he says.

As the construction date nears, Friesen and Horn look forward to watching the house of their dreams take shape and become a home to a family who may not otherwise be able to afford one.

“Our (Christian) faith says we care about the poor, and this is a demonstration of how we take care of the poor,” says Friesen, a retired engineer who has volunteered on previous Habitat builds.

“We also work in peace and harmony with other people regardless of their faith perspective. We’re doing this (next week) with hammer and nails.”

The building project has also constructed goodwill between theological neighbours in southeast Winnipeg, as people met each other through community fundraising meals, says Jerry Plett, minister at St. Vital Evangelical Mennonite Church.

“There’s enough fragmentation and division, so when we have a common cause it’s important for the community to work together,” he says.

Several members of the Muslim community will also pick up hammers and saws during the 10-day project, eager to build a house and good relationships between faith groups, says Alex Simard of the Manitoba Islamic Association.

“(Muslims are) always willing to help and support any project that aims toward assisting others, along with building bridges so that we may get to know one another,” says Simard, who is donating painting and drywall taping services to the build.

brenda@suderman.com

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