Part 2: Start As You Wish To Go On

It has been 5 years since I visited my mother’s birthplace: St. Catharines, ON. “St. Kitts” is a town of about 120,000 people in the Niagara region of Ontario. Formerly dominated by a General Motors plant, the town has rolled with the punches and now a thriving wine industry has kept the Niagara region ticking over. But despite the relative comfort that most Niagara inhabitants enjoy, there is still a need for decent, affordable housing for those who have fallen on hard times.It seemed like an easy decision to start my trip at my second home. As a child I spent months at a time in my Grandmother’s pool and enjoyed sharing my birthday (July 1st) with my Mum’s “home and native land”. But this trip is so utterly different from holidays of the past. This is a trip where I am dedicated to a goal far greater than a killer tan and a new wardrobe from Roots.After spending the first few days in St. Kitts catching up with friends and family it was time to set the wheels in motion and get to work. Lisa Aceti of HFH Niagara put me straight to work in the HFH Restore on Cushman Road. A restore can be described as a charitable Home Depot. You can donate any piece of your home to the Restore – everything from toilets to tiles, kitchens to kitsch radios – and it will be cleaned up, priced and sold to any member of the public. We’ll even pop round to your house to pick up your donation if needed. The Restore provides enough revenue to pay all the administrative costs of an entire Habitat affiliate, so if you decide to donate money to Habitat that money goes directly towards building a home, not on post-its or rent or any others expenses that arise in the pursuit of wiping out poverty housing.My duties in the Restore varied minute by minute: arranging tiles, fixing drawers, destroying scrap tables, putting toilets together, loading someone’s Hummer with a fridge. There were moments in the Restore when the store was quiet and all the guys would just hang out in the workshop repairing items and shooting the breeze. These moments of camaraderie were great and truly displayed to me one of the hidden benefits of getting involved with Habitat. Of course it is great to roll up your sleeves and build a home for someone in need, but I have discovered that by giving your time in the pursuit to house others I found a home myself. Habitat brings together good people whose intentions are bettered only by their spirit and willingness to give. Lisa, Craig, Alistair, Terry, Rob, Mary, Corey, John, Murray, and Eliot are just a few examples of such people. Thank you all.I must mention that October 5th was World Habitat Day. This is a UN sanctioned day dedicated to raising awareness of the worldwide plight we are faced with when it comes to the number of people living in poverty housing or on the streets. HFH Niagara planned a fantastic day to celebrate all of the affiliate’s hard work of the past year. In the morning we had a ground breaking ceremony on a build for a family in Niagara who came to Canada only a few years ago from Africa and really deserved a hand up. The afternoon was spent working in the Restore, selling items to customers and wishing everyone a Happy Habitat Day, which raised a few eyebrows. The day was topped off by a trip to see Niagara Falls illuminated in the Habitat colours, blue and green. It was a phenomenal sight. Our planet is so beautiful; no person should be deprived of a home from which to enjoy it. As always, follow my story right here or on Facebook. Just add me and mention HFH Canada and you can keep up to date on all my shenanigans.