“It Tickles !!!” by N&J

Fort Thompson, SD (Sep 20-21/13)  –  After 6 days of working on the Habitat project and being on their feet all day; aching muscles, a pair of torn shorts, a few cuts, inflamed plantar fasciitis, and paint left on the skin… N&J look back on the past week pleased at what has been accomplished. Approximately 100-120 collective hours has been put into the project. Some of that time was spent getting the lay of the land, figuring out the systems in place, and going over the master plan. Looking back… they ran telecom/data cable, pulled old wires off the building exterior, completed refurbishing the upstairs bathrooms, completed and confirmed the electrical wiring in the centre, installed insulation, furred-out the shower stalls ready for drywall, installed the bathroom vent duct work, adjusted and re-positioned plumbing drains and clean-outs, while at the same time keeping the work space organized. The week ahead will involve drywall on the ceilings and walls.

It is not all work either. N&J have quite a bit of fun doing some of the tasks and learning new skills. ‘Team NJ’, as coined by Jim (Habitat director), work well together. Both have a multitude of different skills that compliment each other and contribute to the job at hand. Sometimes act as ‘assistants’ to each other depending on who is taking the lead. With ‘Cookie Monster’ behind the video camera, are reminded to laugh at one another and be as goofy as possible. Chauncey has walked in on them and has busted a gut laughing on numerous occasions telling them “you are both crazy!”

TO VIEW VIDEO, CLICK ON PIC BELOW…

Have had a few of WJ blog followers ask what they could do to help the Habitat for Humanity (H4H) project… other than coming down to help build the facility, a financial contribution is another effective way. Money for the building materials is always needed. Currently they only have a few thousand dollars in the account, but thousands more will be required by next spring to get the houses built. Many large corporations, small business, church groups & individuals have donated labour, material & money. The labour is all done by volunteers… that is why N&J are here.

Whenever these homes are built by H4H for families, it is NOT an outright gift. “This is not a handout, it is a hand-up”. The families must contribute money and/or labour (sweat equity) towards the effort. And they will have a mortgage when they move in. This approach provides an avenue for lower income families to experience home ownership, bring pride to people and most importantly change the status quo… breaking down the barriers and altering the cycle of poverty.

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If anyone is interested in contributing towards this project please contact us: