Seven things we have learned about Social Action among the poor

This August, my wife Bernie and I will return to the beautiful land of Sri Lanka. We will bring with us an adult team of 16 volunteers from all over the world and for two weeks we will help several Sri Lankan families build their new homes. This will be the eighth Global Village team we have organized with Habitat for Humanity in the countries of Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia.

At home in Honolulu we see people who live in their cars or in camps on the beach or under highway bridges. In many ways these “homeless” people share the plight of their counterparts all over the world.

Bernie and I worked last two years with Habitat for Humanity building five homes in Waimanalo and Papakolea. Because of their work Habitat Honolulu has helped these five families move from substandard decaying houses to brand new affordable homes. Still we recognize our responsibility to do more to help our homeless neighbors.

From our experiences with Habitat for Humanity since 2003, we have learned many things about working with those who are trying to better their lives and those of their families. We would like to share seven of the most important lessons we have learned.

Homeless must solve their own problem—with dignity

Our first lesson sounds like a hopeless paradox. The only ones who can raise a family up from the plight of poverty and substandard living are the family members themselves. There is no free lunch. A homeless widow (my mother) once said, “We might not have any money but we are not poor.” Poverty is a state of mind and has very little to do with material wealth. A homeless person is a unique human individual and as such feels dignity and pride. This person needs to recognize that he (or she) can and must shoulder the responsibility for his own self improvement.

Cannot solve problem alone

Having said this, it is also clear that a person with no job, no savings, and no home lacks the very basic things that are needed to make this self improvement possible. This person will need to recognize that his or her problem is not an individual issue but a social one. Poverty and homelessness are a violation of social justice and as such require social action. This person and his family need to join forces with others in the same situation to recognize they face common issues and to search for common solutions. Tent cities on the public beaches of Hawaii are an example of this type of social action. But clearly this is not enough…

Must organize to achieve goal--nothing is impossible

As an individual working alone a homeless person really is powerless to change the system. The problem is far too great for any one person to solve. The virtue of social justice requires organization. Social justice can only be achieved when those suffering the failure of social justice band together in an organized way to recognize and solve their problems. Working together, nothing is beyond the reach of these people.

A larger organization needs to provide support

Here is where the city, the state, the NGO, or the Diocese of Honolulu comes in. These larger organizations are in a position to provide the homeless group support in many ways. Habitat for Humanity is a great example of such a group. With a worldwide fundraising and volunteer base, HFH is able to bring resources into the village or community that are necessary to fulfill their needs. But Habitat always works with the country and village organization (Affiliate) which assists the families to band together in organized groups to work out their needs for a better life.

New owners learn financial responsibility

The first step is to learn how to manage the family finances. Multiple families often live in single substandard housing. They need to build their own home but lack the money. The local affiliate, often associated with a church, teaches basic budget and money management. Future homeowners learn to save and when enough is saved they may apply to build a Habitat home. The breadwinner must learn to keep a job and to spend his money wisely.

In Sri Lanka, Habitat for Humanity sponsors a factory to make the bricks and window frames that are used in their homes. Habitat families are employed in this factory.

In one scheme, a dozen future homeowners pool their savings. When enough has been saved to build a house, they cast lots to see which family will be first. This process continues until all twelve homes are built. The families in the group form a real sense of community this way.

In Honolulu a new habitat house costs about $80,000 to build. The owner must qualify for a 30 year no-interest loan. Each new habitat family is assigned a “mentor” habitat family to provide support and advice. The national Habitat for Humanity foreclosure rate is 2%, much lower that the national average, and the foreclosures did not increase during the recent recession.

Must be involved in the work

Five hundred hours of “sweat equity” is required of any Habitat family wishing to build a new home. Often this time is spent working with volunteers in building a neighbor’s home. The family is in charge of their own building project. Volunteers come in teams from all over the world to help the new owner. It is interesting when your Global Village team consists of four or five engineers and construction people who must very quickly learn that the ways of local third world construction are the correct ways and must follow the lead of the local construction supervisor.

Can only do what is possible

Versatility and adaptability are the rule. No one formula fits all cases. In fact the local homeowners and affiliates must plan and decide what is possible within the means available. For example, in Sri Lanka, the families were so poor they could not afford to build an entire home. So half the home (two small rooms and a squat toilet) was built with stub outs for construction of the rest of the house at a future date. In Vietnam the families could not afford to build a house at all. Instead GV teams came in to build foundations and terracotta tile floors where families had been living on dirt (very messy in the rainy seasons). Then the community would come together and pick up the old stick and palm house and move it onto the new footings. In Cambodia and the Philippines families could build complete homes.

If pictures are worth 1,000 words

Two families pictured at the beginning of this article live across the street from one another at the site of a cleared land fill in Sri Lanka. On the left, the families live across from the habitat build; on the right the new Habitat for Humanity village. These two pictures summarize why we are returning to Sri Lanka again this August to build with Habitat for Humanity.

Letter to Cinnie from Kodiak

Re: It's cold up here...Brrr

Glad you are on top of the allergy thing. So Joe is 69 too. 1942 was a very good year! Only trouble is next year we'll be 70. Now that's pretty serious stuff.
  
We now know why they paint that carefree Alaskan on the tail of their planes. That's the necessary attitude for landing at the Kodiak airport. Water with rocky crags on three sides and a mountain at the end of the runway. Cloud cover at 200 ft. So we're in this 737 flaps down ... Can't see the end of the wing. Then water and rocks. Pilot guns the engines and up at 45 degrees. "Well we missed that one ..." from the flight deck. We fly around and try again. Then flaps down clouds rocks and water. End of runway in view. Engines gunned and we cheat death once again...blasted mountain! We'll come in on the north runway this time. It's a little short but water at both ends... no mountains. We'll land her this time. She's a little hot rod. Sure enough. Clouds,trees, runway, we're down. Applause. Captain Jack is our hero. No wonder we pay extra for this ... The crew gets hazard pay.
  
Stay well.
Dave

Kailua Beach

Hawaii is almost mystical in its natural beauty and is located 4100 kilometers from anywhere, right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But for those million or so lucky people who live in Honolulu, it is a small home town in an even smaller state, the fiftieth in our union…a “foreign, exotic place” according to Cokie Roberts.

A couple of weeks ago Bernie and I took TheBus to the Haleiwa Art Festival as we have for many summers. (Haleiwa is where you find Matsumoto’s shave ice if you have ever come to visit us.) I said to her “I didn’t realize our mayor was so tall.” She looked puzzled and asked “where is he?” I said “standing right in front of you.” Mufi is the “big man around town” said his body guard.

So when Barack Obama flew into HNL in his private jet, it was a pretty big deal. Many of us received an “invitation” to come to the beautiful public park right next to the airport to see him so we called our friend Roseyn (who, by the way, knows just about everyone in Honolulu) and arrange to take TheBus down to see him. (We all have senior bus passes…costs us $30 a year).

Barack (or Barry as he is known to his friends) is easily the hottest number on the planet right now. But to the locals, he is just a Punahou grad coming home to visit his Tutu (grandma). We are impressed by the big airplane though. Barack attended Punahou for six years and graduated in 1979. Bernie and I taught at Punahou for six summers so we know the place well. Anyhow, we took TheBus down to see him. We waited in the hot sun for a couple of hours until he arrived. He gave a twenty minute speech. Along with his campaign platform he said he wanted to sit on the beach and watch his girls play and that he was going to get some shave ice and a plate lunch. Michelle was with him.

Now we walk our dog Anna on the Kailua Beach every morning. Anna loves the beach. In Hawaii, every dog is related to every other dog. Anna is known as “little miss welcome wagon” by fellow dog owners. “Everyone loves Anna” one said. We walk for three miles every morning from Kalama Park to the Kainui canal end and back. A house along this stretch recently sold for $22M to a “foreign investor.” Anna loves to poop in front of that one. Kailua has been ranked as the “Best Beach” in the world in a number of travel books. So it was no surprise that Barack and Michelle choose to spend their week in one of the big houses on Kailua Beach. It also was not hard to figure out in which one he was staying. Two HPD officers are stationed at the corners of the property on the beach and the local news crews are camped out on the beach at a respectful distance. Yesterday, someone sitting with the reporters waved us over. It was Roseyn, of course. This is one of the reasons she knows everyone in town. But to date they had not seen Barack or his family.

This morning we parked at our usual spot at Kalama and started down the beach with Anna. All was quiet at the Obama digs. The news crew wasn’t even around. We walked to the end of the beach and had Anna “touch the wall” as all the beach runners are in the habit of doing. On the way back we approached the Obama place and a little dark skinned girl popped out from the yard followed by her dad. The two started walking down the beach and were soon joined by another little girl in a yellow bathing suit. Two secret service men followed at a reasonable distance. The trio stopped to talk with a neighbor who had been sitting with her husband in her beach chairs. As we walked by with Anna, the Obamas continued their walk down the beach about twenty feet from us. We looked over, smiled and waved, Barack smiled and waved back. We continued on our way.

In a world of over six billion people, on the little island of Oahu, hardly visible on the map, Bernie and I had a moment of encounter with a man who will likely shape the course of human history. Not such a big deal in a small town like Honolulu. We will be back to Kailua Beach tomorrow to walk Anna.

August 12, 2008

Postscript: On November 4, 2008, the American people elected Barack Obama, Punahou '79, the 44th president of the United States. God bless America!

NHS Induction Address

The four pillars of the National Honor Society are leadership, service, scholarship, character. Many of you sitting on this stage as well those sitting in this audience exemplify these four qualities in your life every day. Now you do it in school. You organize dances, raise funds, play sports, tutor younger students, study hard and provide an atmosphere of friendship which makes DHS a great place to be. But these qualities grow with you as you leave the protection of the high school and enter a world which desperately needs you to continue living these qualities all your adult life.

I have identified seven areas that will put your leadership, service, scholarship and character to the test. I will take a few minutes to share these with you.


1. Protect the earth When I was in high school fifty years ago, 3 billion people lived on this earth. Over six billion people now live here. When you reach my age our planet will be struggling to support 12 billion. Our air is already at risk from man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Our water is being polluted at an alarming rate. Our planet is warming. You must find ways to help out. Buy a fuel efficient car, insulate your home, use alternate energy sources such as the sun and wind, buy energy efficient appliances and light fixtures. Eat food that is grown close to home. (20% of all fuel consumption today is used to ship food someplace else.) Learn to live within sustainable energy limits.

2. Tithe your religion and give alms You are in the top 1% of the world's economic stratosphere. Be generous to those who do not have the things you have. Give freely to your religion. Give alms to those less fortunate. Remember we are all of equal value to God.

3. Shun corruption and violence Violence, war and corruption will always be part our human existence. Shun these things. There will be people anxious to hand you a gun or strap a bomb to you. They will tell you this is how problems must be solved. Shun these people. Their solution has never worked and never will. You must find a better way.

4. Educate children Give the gift of knowledge and understanding to children. Support schools that teach children to read and write. Many of you are familiar with and help support The Citizens' Foundation which in the past ten years has build hundreds of quality private schools in Pakistan. Thousands of children are being raised from slavery and ignorance every year by the TCF. But millions more still live in ignorance and slavery. There is lots of work to be done here.

5. Pay your taxes Society cannot serve the common good without financial resources. Society without funded government results in anarchy, chaos and unbearable suffering for billions of people especially the poor. It will be one of your primary responsibilities to help provide these funds by paying your taxes.

6. Shelter the homeless Enable impoverished people to gain dignity and self sufficiency by helping them build their own home. Many of you have gone with our Habitat for Humanity club to Sri Lanka or to the Philippines and have helped to build clean safe housing for people who previously had nothing. Many more of you have helped raise the necessary funds to build these homes. You have sent substantial donations to Lebanon and Pakistan. Your generosity with your time effort and money has made a huge difference to these people. Many of you have found to your surprise that the biggest winners are yourselves.

7. Love your own- your culture, your religion , your family These things define who you are, where you come from and where you are going. Learn about your cultural heritage, food, costumes, dance. Value it. Teach it to your children. God gave you your religion to help you return to him. Be firm in your belief and faithful to your religion. There will be those who will tell you these things are not important. Don't believe them. Your family is your greatest treasure. This is where you find your identity. This is who you are. Your parents have born and raised you. They protect you. They educate you. Love and respect your parents and your siblings. Love your future spouse, protect and raise your children the way you have been raised.

After over forty years teaching high school chemistry and physics, Mrs. Reeves and I will be leaving the classroom and returning to our home in Honolulu. We look forward to being closer to our family. We leave Dhahran with the firm belief that you will live leadership, service, scholarship, and character and that because of you our world will be a safe place for your children and our grandchildren.

In the simple words of Tiny Tim -- God Bless us…everyone



NHS Induction Address
Dhahran High School
April 18, 2007