HfH Project ~ Celebrating Merdeka Day in a different kind of way... HfH or Habitat for Humanity is an international non-profit NGO devoted to bringing families and communities in need together with volunteers and resources to build decent, affordable housing for the poor. During the Merdeka holiday yesterday, i've had the opportunity to volunteer for one of their local project in Kampung Senibong where, we were going to help build a house! =)
Started the day early, with a quick bite of kolo mee for breakfast before heading away from civilization.... well sort of...

for the later part of the journey to the building site was beginning to look more like a route fit for the Borneo 4X4 adventure challenge. Finally reached with our 4-door sedan still intact... =p

There we met up with another group of youthful & enthusiastic volunteers, mostly from the Kuching blogosphere circle. There were about 13 of us rookie builders on the construction site. Eric, the experienced contractor manning the site (the guy wearing phua chu kang signature yellow boots) gave us a brief comical introduction to building your own house, before dividing us into smaller groups & assigning each team tasks to carry out under his supervision & guidance. Basically, we were initially given simple routine task of cutting & bending steel bars into brackets for to hold the beams that make the foundation of the house together, before long we were running like an efficient production line... by the mid-noon we were already ahead of schedule & had even successfully erected a makeshift shade! To all fellow volunteers, great job! =)
This is also my 1st 'real' outdoor shoot with my 450D. Struggled mightily just to get the right shot & correct exposure... and my toy got real dirty too, in the process. Good thing that I've had the UV filter/lens protector in place. *earlier 3 pixes shot with my trusty old W810i*

This is my home. This is where i live, together with my mom, dad, brother, grandpa & grandma...

& my cat too...

our only mode of transport, on wheels...

volunteers... we are...

uncle, could you please help to build a proper house for us to live in?

Starting out the day on high spirit...

loi & Peggy, who brought us along for this volunteer outing...

girl power hard at work...

looks easy, but it really is a lot of hard work & brute force to put in...

more girl power at work...

finally on to the roof top... *of the makeshift shelter/shade*

mistah sexy-lips really seem to be enjoying basking in the sun...

the most refreshing sight on the site after about 3 hours of work...

What i felt like at the end of it all...

Building a house is no easy task ~ a lot of hours of toiling under the sun, getting your hands dirty, a little cut & bruises here and there... but that's all in a days work for a construction worker. It's been a great experience, fun yet tiring at the same time... for a worthy cause. =)

Other entries about this outing:
- Irene's
- Georgette's
- KuchingBloggers.com