


Cindy Walbridge
Sep 16, 2022
United States, Haiti, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Nepal
Categories:
Construction, Schools, Children, Volunteerism, Recycling
This article showcases a fascinating organization, Build Abroad. People volunteer to go worldwide and build projects that benefit the local community. Build Abroad's mission statement is to "build and repair communities around the world through socially responsible construction volunteering."
Here are some stark statistics that underlie the need for organizations such as Build Abroad:
Over 1 billion people live in slums, and that number is growing fast. That is approximately 1 of every 8 people living today.
Approximately one-third (1/3) of children in developing countries live without adequate shelter.
There is a need for more than four (4) million classrooms in the world's poorest communities.
2.6 billion people lack basic sanitation, which is 1 of every 3 living today (yes, you read that right). And a third (1/3) of those people lack access to clean water.
Build Abroad participates and partners with many people and groups. One notable project is their partnership with Hug it Forward and their effort to build "bottle schools."
What are bottle schools? They are schools built from discarded plastics, and it turns out that plastic bottles make suitable building materials. Many poor communities have large quantities of plastic waste and lack a resource to dispose of or recycle it. (Plastic waste is a global problem and one that we all face.)
"The benefits of building with these bottles are twofold. First, it cleans the community of trash. It reuses plastic bottles that would otherwise build up in the community harming the natural and human environments. Second, the effort educates youth about recycling. The bottle school project reinforces the idea that the message is just as important as the action.
Plastic bottles are collected and filled with inorganic trash creating "eco-bricks." The eco-bricks become the construction materials for the schools. People in the community see a common throwaway item become a place where their children can learn. From garbage comes a school. Evidence of their success? There have been over 100 schools constructed in Guatemala since 2009.
The Build Abroad group was started by two architects. Their goal is to use their building skills and volunteers from around the world to help poor communities.
"Typically, our projects in Guatemala and Peru are new construction of schools or homes. In Costa Rica, our projects are usually repairs on existing buildings such as schools, churches, orphanages, and women's shelters. In Haiti, we focus on home building, and in Nepal, we are currently doing disaster relief in Kathmandu and surrounding villages."
Many religious institutions in hometowns around the world sponsor building projects with money and volunteers to help people in need. Take a look at Build Abroad. Perhaps it is worth asking them about partnership opportunities. Consider learning how to create eco-bricks with your community's plastic waste and building a demonstration building. Building supplies today repurpose and recycle many materials not thought of before, such as styrofoam and automobile tires. It is possible to re-energize the market for recyclables by increasing the demand for them. Recycling plastic waste for building materials is one way to do so. Bring together people in your hometown who like to build things with their hands and have a go of it. It sounds like a great way to have fun and make a difference in our world.
Photo by Tanvi Sharma on Unsplash.
To learn more about Build Abroad, please visit the link below.
Bonus! Picture of a bottle school under construction from Build Abroad see 2nd link below.
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Catalog #:
0922.107.01.091622