a little reminder

I am in desperate need of inspiration. For my photography. My creative pursuits. And life in general. For three years I found that inspiration through my yearly trip with Habitat for Humanity's Global Village program. Those trips renewed my sense of self and purpose. They reminded me to be patient, something I lack in my daily life. And they made me see the world through a different filter. I cherish those trips and the friendships I've made as a result. So it's times like these when I need a little reminder. You may remember this post about my Habitat trip to Botswana. Well, below is the email I sent after returning from my third Habitat trip to Malaysia.



8 August 2008

Selamat datang!

That means welcome or hello in Malay, the official language of Malaysia.

Our build was located in Kampung Sinangang, in the state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo. Kampung Sinangang is a small village about 30 minutes outside of Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. It sits at the foot of Mount Kinabalu, one of the tallest mountains in Southeast Asia.

There were two build sites, so our team was split in half. The first site was a one room concrete structure with a separate kitchen and bathroom. The second, where I worked, was an elevated wood structure with a kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms. A Habitat team from France started the house and we completed the drainage trench, interior ceiling, inside and outside paneling, and laid the concrete floor. A team from Scotland came a few days after us to complete both houses.

This build was definitely the most physically exhausting of my three Habitat trips. The extreme heat and humidity along with the strenuous work took a toll on everyone. We drank 10-15 bottles of water every day in order to counteract the mass amount of sweating. There were no power tools or machinery, so everything was done by hand. The frame was built with “iron wood,” properly termed, as it is virtually impossible to saw or nail through. The nails would go about a quarter of the way in and then bend. We went through 6-10 nails for each hole we made! Our ancient, dull saws were no match for the wood either. Since we didn’t have a cement mixer, I used the concrete making skills I picked up in Botswana to teach the team how to make mortar and the concrete. Who would have thought!

Getting to the build site was another story. The road from our lodge to the site had been partially washed away by the monsoons. Our 1970's refurbished Land Rover climbed 70 degree inclines against flooding rains, plunged into holes that can only be described as small land mines, and rode down the mountain in first gear because it the decline was too steep to just use the breaks. The trek was so bad that we blew out our four-wheel drive one morning and had to hitch hike to the site. A few days later we blew out the clutch and had to ride to work in the back of a truck… in the pouring rain… with some of us standing up.

The weekends were a tad more relaxing. We stayed in Kota Kinabalu, where we went to the open markets along the South China Sea. We saw some pretty insane things for sale: Raw chicken sitting in the scorching sun in plastic bins with no ice; blood streaming down the sidewalk from an outdoor meat shop where men slammed machetes into carcasses and flies covered the meat; a man rubbing a dried fish with a piece of denim; and a million other unhygienic food items… We drove to the tip of Boreno to Kudat, where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea, where you can see The Philippines. The water was clear aqua for as far as the eye could see. While in Kudat we visited the Rungus tribe Longhouses for a traditional meal and tribal dance. They are considered one of the most traditional ethnic groups in Sabah. It was amazing to see the structure of the longhouses. They are raised above the ground to protect them from wild animals and are made out of bamboo. They are called longhouses because they house the entire tribe; with each family having its own separate quarters off the long common hall... We took a river safari in Sarawak and saw the infamous proboscis monkeys, water buffalo, and fireflies, among others... We visited a village that solely produces gongs... and on our last day took a boat to Sapi Island where we swam and snorkeled in the South China Sea.

Malaysia was amazing and completely different from anywhere I've ever been. The insects were bigger (butterflies the size of birds and horned beetles the size of mice), the sounds were stranger (we had an insect in our room that sounded like a monkey), and the food was crazier (watery rice porridge with dried sardines sprinkled on top and green rubbery floral snacks that apparently come from nature). I was constantly in awe of everything!

With each Habitat trip I am reminded of the poverty and daily struggles that people endure around the world. It is incredibly humbling to see the conditions they live in; shacks made out of discarded sheets of metal, rotting wood structures on collapsing stilts, and crumbling mud huts. That the people are able to continue smiling, laughing, and hoping impels me to work harder; it’s why I do this year after year.

I cannot end without expressing my sincere gratitude to everyone who has supported me in this endeavor. I am truly grateful to all of you.

I will send my pictures soon!

Selamat tinggal. Jumpa lagi! Goodbye. See you again!
Mercie

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The house on our first day.



Sawing.




Measuring.




Making concrete.




Leveling.




Chopping.




Monsoon season.




The house on our last day.




A family's new home.