Helping Others Sends Concrete Message
By Mariko Asano

I am 24 years old and I grew up in Nishinomiya, Japan. In August 1997, I participated in what Habitat calls a short-term mission trip hosted by the Pamana Habitat Village in the city of Bacolod, on Negros Island, the Philippines. Most Japanese don't really like to use the word "mission." It sounds like a "Christian activity," and we are not Christian, but the idea of building somebody's house abroad was exciting enough to get me involved in Habitat.

Whether it's joining together bricks and mortar, or cultures and nationalities, Mariko Asano strives to share Habitat's message of unity to all she meets.

In February 1998, I returned to Bacolod as a student leader with 28 members of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies' Pax Mundi campus chapter. I like the name of our campus chapter, because it means "the peace of the world" in Latin. Both the staff and the homeowner families in Bacolod have become dear friends of the work team I led, and we think of them often and miss their smiles.

Meeting these whole-hearted people from Habitat has been wonderful for each of us. Their simple lifestyles reminded us of the meanings and value of life that have been largely lost in such an affluent country as Japan. Their smiles reminded us of -- not material things -- but more valuable things we should always appreciate in our life, such as spending time with your family, friends and neighbors; developing close relationships; helping each other, appreciating what you do have.

We thought we came to help the Filipino people, but they helped us to see something valuable and something we hadn't been appreciating. They generously offered their food, space and hearts in a way we are not accustomed to. (Would you give up your bed for a stranger and sleep on the cement floor at your own house?)

My third trip to the Philippines as a Habitat volunteer was last spring, for the 1999 Jimmy Carter Work Project. I was assigned to a house called "World Youth House." There were Filipinos, Filipino-Americans, Americans, Indians, Koreans and Japanese working together to complete a house for a family we just met on the site.

During that week, hundreds of Filipino children were around. Children just love anyone with a good intention, no matter what nationality those strangers are or no matter what language those foreigners speak. They were looking at us, thousands of Filipino and foreign volunteers, working together on their new houses. It made me very happy to see them in a situation where they could naturally obtain a positive view of the whole world without the biases that adults have -- myself included.

On the last day of the build, at the house dedication, all of us stood inside a room we built in just a week, full of various emotions, mostly of fulfillment. Even now we keep in touch across the world. Some of us are actively involved in Habitat in different countries. Habitat brings people together and gives us the opportunity to realize that people all over the world care about each other. Habitat sometimes opens up people's eyes and keeps children from having a negative filter through which to see the world. Habitat conveys the very important message to people that we can be all friends.

Currently, I volunteer at one of the Habitat offices in Asia, helping student volunteer groups to arrange their short-term mission trips to East and Southeast Asia. I sometimes meet young people to talk about Habitat and explain how we started our campus chapter. I often tell these students that Habitat lets you make friends in the world because it brings people together to support a clear goal and provides the way to achieve it in unity.

Being involved with Habitat has changed my life. I've learned that I can make a difference in the world by being connected with people who have a similar wish.

Wherever you build, however you help, it is a step toward the goal of eliminating poverty housing from the face of the earth.


A Campus Chapters and Youth Programs intern in Habitat's East and Southeast Asia regional office in Manila, Philippines, Mariko Asano enjoys traveling and the opportunities it provides for her to speak English.



Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, April/May 2000.
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©2000 Habitat for Humanity International