Getting ready for the Advocacy Trip

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 - Jeff Smith

As I sit here about 48 hours before the Habitat for Humanity International Build Louder Trip to Guatemala, I have to admit, I am a bit apprehensive. I have been to Latin America numerous times (once to Guatemala), I speak Spanish well enough to get myself in to trouble, and I have led five Habitat Global Village Trips in the past. So what is the source of my apprehension, you ask? I have never been on a Habitat for Humanity Advocacy Trip before. Not that Advocacy is a scary subject, but I am more of a “get things done” kind of person. I much prefer being outside taking action, than sitting around a table talking about solutions. But, I also realize that in order for there to be things for me to “get done”, meetings like the ones we will be having in Guatemala need to happen first.

Last year Habitat International led their first Advocacy trip to Honduras. The trip included tours of slums in Tegucigalpa, meetings with Honduran housing officials, and even a meeting with the Vice President of the country (the President had planned on attending but was preoccupied with the earthquake that shook the country while the group was visiting). Although we won’t have a meeting with the president of Guatemala, we do have meetings with housing officials in the Guatemalan government, non-government organizations (NGOs), and other housing advocates in Guatemala.

Our task will be to raise the awareness level of the need for stable, secure housing. According to various sources, in Guatemala city alone, there are approximately 985,000 people living in “precarious settlements”—defined as those located on illegal plots, on land unsuitable for construction, and/or in gullies prone to landslides or floods. As is the case in many countries around the world, many Guatemalans lack secure tenure—meaning they do not have title to the land on which they live (even though their land may have been passed down from generation to generation). This means that at any time, government agencies/law enforcement could come and kick them out of their house. I can only imagine how stressful it would be living day to day with the real possibility that someone could come and bulldoze my house while I was away at work (or worse, while I was at home).

As I pack my pepto tablets, and my hunter green shorts (it will be 75 degrees in Guatemala City next week!), I am excited about spending a few days working alongside Guatemalan families on a Habitat site. I have experienced this before but I can assure you, there are few things in this world that compare to meeting and working with Habitat families in the construction of their own homes. But I am also excited about the opportunity to help create change on a scale larger than just one family at a time. I am hopeful that through our meetings we can start to make systematic change so that in every country (even the US of A) safe, decent, affordable housing is a matter of conscience.

My colleague here at Twin Cities Habitat, Trista Matascastillo, and I will be updating this blog throughout the course of our trip. Please stop back later this week when we write and share photos about our experiences from this trip.