World Habitat Day.
When Maslow created his Hierarchy of Needs, the foundation for a human to achieve self-actualization is rooted in basic needs: food, air, shelter. That was in 1943. Fast forward to 2014, we are still struggling for those basic needs. Thanks to Habitat for Humanity and the UN for taking this day to recognize the need for basic & sustainable housing for all people around the world.
I have been working with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles for the past five years. I’ve been blessed to see the sheer joy and triumph in a new homeowner’s face while they are working on what will become “Their Home”. As I built alongside a homeowner during this year’s annual Power Women Power Tools build, she was already eagerly telling me her future plans and ways to achieve success. Having her home, her foundation, is allowing her to not only grow and succeed herself, but also provide a stable, loving home for her family to grow and succeed as well.
I was blessed to take my first Global Village journey with Habitat for Humanity to Malawi this year as well. While many of us may find it hard to relate to a village in Malawi, the first thing I noticed was that their basic needs are the same as ours. With adequate and sustainable housing, they too are able to grow, develop, and succeed in the future. They are now able to have a sturdy roof over their heads that allows the children to concentrate on school work and furthering their education. The path to success and a solid future is now available to them.
At the end of the day, we are all one giant Global Village struggling for a way to stay connected to one another. And it’s not through social media; it’s through human interaction. We must continue to help each other. Give of our time and money to see our fellow man thrive. I encourage the “time” portion more than anything. It’s extremely difficult to put my experiences in words. You must volunteer yourself to see what I’m talking about. If we are able to provide at least one of the basic needs to deserving families around the world, we set that path to future success in motion. With Habitat for Humanity, we don’t give “Hand Outs”, we give “A Hand Up”.
Please join me in working with this wonderful organization to give more families their foundation. For more info: www.dev.habitatla.org and www.habitat.org
Ashley Noel
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And join us for our World Habitat Day 2014 Twitter Chat – Monday, October 6, 1-2pm PST
Twitter: www.twitter.com/HabitatLA
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