Jubilee Homes: Building a House, Making a Home

In 1982 Pope John Paul II remarked that the homeless are poorer than the poor, and that a home "serves to found a person’s deep identity". With around four million Filipino families either homeless or living in substandard homes, a true program fueled by Christian compassion, solidarity and authentic generosity can, hopefully, remedy this situation.

Flashforward to January 2002. On the 17th of the month, a busload of The Philippine STAR and Pilipino Star Ngayon employees motored all the way to Las Piñas City to help lay the groundwork for the Jubilee Homes for the Poor, a collective project of the Council of Laity of the Philippines (Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in cooperation with the Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP).

The STAR troopers, braving a scorching morning sun, came armed with gloves, shovels and a sense of humor, not to mention a healthy dose of compassion.

The project aims to fund, build, transfer to qualified Filipino families of any faith, 600 habitat-type homes to commemorate the great Jubilee. The homes are to be funded by donations from private individuals and corporations.

On that day, the volunteers helped in constructing a two-storey cement home, with floor area of approximately 30 square meters, with a living room, bedroom, kitchen/dining area, sanitary toilet and bath with running water and electricity.

The Jubilee Village is located near Meritville in Las Piñas and has 15 to 20 units ready for occupancy.

The volunteers were split into groups, from cement haulers to hollow block carriers to ditch diggers. It was not unusual for them to switch groups, trying to find the work most suitable for them. One even took on the role of slave driver, to the slight amusement of rest of the sweaty group.

HFHP said its existing project sites will be made available for the building of Jubilee Homes which in turn will comprise a Jubilee Village. The villages will each house at least 100 families on land provided by the Philippine government through the National Housing Authority or by private donors.

Meanwhile, Laiko and Solidarity Fund will oversee and coordinate the community support program for homeowners in Jubilee Villages to include primary health and sanitation training, environmental care education and sustainable livelihood development.

This includes the implementation and establishment of Jubilee Hospices in dioceses nationwide, with the diocese and parish councils implementing the program in their respective areas.

By midmorning, The STAR volunteers welcomed the break to re-energize with sandwiches and drinks. The regular construction workers, who accompanied and guided the volunteers, continued working until they heard the buzzer signaling their own break.

The number of volunteers (33 in all) and their endurance was testament enough to the special skill and stamina to build just one cement house, which had a notably high foundation since the area is reportedly prone to flooding.

But housing alone will not solve the problem of the homeless, and this is where the Jubilee Hospice program comes in. The hospices will offer temporary shelter, rehabilitation and possibly medical treatment for homeless street dwellers, the helpless, ill and unschooled, as well as the unemployed and physically and mentally disadvantaged.

The hospices will be constructed by the Solidarity Fund and managed by Laiko’s lay organizations and charitable non-govern-ment organizations in the dioceses and parishes where they will be built.

With over 25,000 parishes in the Philippines, the objective is to build 10,000 hospices to each receive 100 homeless and rehabilitate them within a six-month period. The hospices seek to serve two million homeless persons each year.

The funds sourced for the Jubilee Hospices will be distinct from those sourced for the Jubilee Homes.

The back-breaking work continued into noon, and already several volunteers gave in to the heat and fatigue. They, however, pressed on after a few minutes’ rest. The foundation of the house was nearing completion; only a few cement blocks were left to finish the framework.

It was easy to imagine the structure as a whole. In a few more days, all that will be needed are a doormat, a knock on the door, and one less homeless family to welcome the visitor passing through Jubilee Village, Las Piñas. –With reports by Dandi Galvez