Captivated by memories of her son and husband's work with Habitat for Humanity in Tanzania three summers ago, Maria Castro-Sethness knew she couldn't let another June roll by without action. In short, the visiting assistant professor of modern languages packed the family's bags and headed to the highlands of Guatemala, joining a diverse group of Habitat volunteers in the village of San Andrés Semetabaj.

Upon their arrival this past summer, Castro-Sethness met the three families chosen by Habitat to receive new homes. The mothers and grandmothers of those households befriended Castro-Sethness, husband, Clifford, and 17-year-old daughter Sofia, quickly, sharing sad stories about the tragedy of the civil war and the loss of innocent lives.

Although the locals' first language was Kaqchiquel, communicating with the families in Spanish proved fairly effortless for Castro-Sethness, a native of Madrid. And so it was with little surprise that for the next two weeks, her contributions volleyed between the physical aspects of the Habitat build and facilitating communications between the families and masons, local Habitat employees, and other volunteers.

"We were very excited to be sharing the experience with our daughter, who had been looking forward to meeting the Guatemalan families and working to better their lives," Castro-Sethness says.

When the real work of building the homes began, the labor proved rigorous. Mixing mortar and cement, mortaring between cinder blocks, tying rebar, pouring concrete, and going to the store to buy materials were some of the daily activities volunteers assisted with. Castro-Sethness tried her hand at everything physical, finding a niche in rebar and mortaring.

When not working on the houses, volunteers played games and sports with the local children and attended a cultural night with the families that included Guatemalan food, dances and music, Castro-Sethness says. The exposure to their culture was an eye-opening experience for the CMC instructor and her fellow teammates, creating an instant bond among them.

Says Castro-Sethness, "One of the most interesting aspects of the trip was the closeness and camaraderie that started immediately, and grew throughout the trip between each member of the group, and then between the group and the families with whom we were building."

At the end of her own two weeks, the team had not only gelled, but took tearful pride in the community's accomplishments during closing ceremonies when the three homes were dedicated. "Most people could not stop crying. It was a truly spiritual experience that we will always remember," she says.

Habitat for Humanity seeks to eradicate poverty housing and homelessness, and to make decent shelter for all people a matter of conscience and action. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built more than 200,000 houses, sheltering more than 1,000,000 people worldwide. According to official sources, approximately 75 percent of the people in Guatemala live below poverty, and more than 50 percent are considered within the extreme poverty category. Habitat's efforts in Guatemala, where natural disasters have displaced thousands of families, have resulted in the completion of 20,000 homes between 1979 and November 2005—nearly 10 percent of Habitat's worldwide construction output.

Castro-Sethness says she loved the Guatemalan culture, the values, and the sense of community. "I was also so happy to be a part of the effort to make a difference in someone's life by participating in building a dream for families in need. The Guatemala Habitat project was the experience of a lifetime."

For more information on Habitat for Humanity, visit http://www.habitat.org/.

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