Developing partnerships and mutual understanding when working on overseas projects
Habitat for Humanity Great Britain envisions a world where everyone has a safe home. Operating in over 70 countries, we tailor our approach to local needs, covering construction, water, sanitation, disaster response and policy advocacy.
In the UK, the work of Habitat for Humanity GB includes a focus on addressing local housing needs. With fewer affordable homes and rising costs exacerbated by Covid, our priority programme, Empty Spaces to Homes, repurposes vacant commercial spaces into affordable housing.
History of Global Village
Volunteering has been at the heart of Habitat’s work since its foundation in 1974. Originating in the US, Habitat’s model mobilised communities in helping to construct homes for their neighbours.
In 1989, this inspired an overseas volunteering and community mobilisation programme, and “Global Village” became the flagship opportunity for people, including in the UK, to participate in initiatives around the world, building and improving homes in partnership with local communities in alignment with Habitat’s vision.
Up until the pause necessitated by the Covid pandemic in 2019, Global Village was active in 40 countries, typically involving around 13,000 participants a year. In 2019 alone, 801 teams, numbering 12,176 individuals, committed their time in 37 countries.
Fifteen of these teams, or 250 UK participants, were supported by Habitat GB in fundraising for, and bringing their commitment, time and hard work to build homes in nine countries.
Participants also committed their fundraising efforts; Global Village raised over £7.8 million annually around the world. Taking part in Global Village not only mobilised participants to raise much needed funds, but it also raised awareness of Habitat’s work, and the issue of decent housing worldwide.
Global Village experience
It takes months for someone to set foot on a build site when they first join Habitat GB as a Global Village participant. Participants are typically driven individuals joining a community group or workers of Habitat GB's strategic corporate partners. Beginning this journey as part of a larger organisation is helpful when navigating the worries and anxieties that may arise when committing to an overseas experience.
After they commit to a build, the Habitat GB Engagement Coordinator helps them along the way by giving them early information about fundraising, the work and impact of Habitat, as well as other crucial details about the country where the building work will be conducted, including local needs and considerations alongside the strategy each country has in place for addressing these.
As the journey progresses, the British participants work as teams to fundraise and prepare for their build – attending orientation sessions focused on preparing and packing for a build, what to expect upon arrival, and some of the practical essentials around health and safety, safeguarding, and insurance.
This is also an excellent time to introduce the participants to both the Habitat staff in the country they will be travelling to, as well as the Team Leaders. These are volunteers who have taken part in Habitat builds in the past and work to lead others through the process both in the preparation for the build trip and through the build itself.
Throughout the process, participants have access to the Engagement Coordinator, as well as the Team Leaders, for their queries and ease any concerns that may arise.
Travelling from the UK
Upon departure from the UK for the build itself, teams will usually travel together where possible to their build project, and are met upon arrival by local Habitat staff, who would have already coordinated hotels, transportation, food, and social learning exchange activities, in addition to the build itself.
Being familiar with the local area, the Habitat staff in the programme countries have the knowledge, skills, and passion to help volunteers feel supported and excited for the week of their build.
This support – both from local staff and Team Leaders – is critical in ensuring that local communities benefit from their involvement so participants have a safe experience, . The Global Village programmes takes a responsible, person-centred approach to overseas engagement trips.
From an operational perspective, all Habitat entities – including Habitat GB – which recruit and send teams are subject to oversight and policy standards provided by Habitat for Humanity International. This requires completing a robust accreditation process which ensures Global Village meets a consistently high standard across all countries – whether sending or hosting teams.
This process includes a comprehensive review of safeguarding policies and procedures, health and safety and risk management strategies, insurance and contingency plans, financial due diligence, and oversight of the support and guidance provided to participants through pre-departure training and resources.
This accreditation process also emphasises the role of advocacy in the Global Village programme, working to ensure that each participant emerges from their experience a lifelong advocate for the charity and its global and local work.
Challenges of overseas volunteering
The Covid-19 pandemic had an immediate and significant impact on Global Village. The urgent need to pause all builds while we all responded to the impact of significant travel restrictions turned into a longer hiatus. This was driven firstly by a responsibility to protect vulnerable communities where vaccination availability and healthcare provision are both limited.
Secondly, there was the recognition that this was an opportunity to reassess the Global Village programme in recognition of the changing volunteer landscape, and to think about what overseas volunteering could look like into the future.
Having done this work, in collaboration with Habitat teams worldwide, Habitat GB is now preparing to resume Global Village, sending over 50 participants to three countries participating in the staged resumption - Romania, Kenya and Malawi.
This need for an in-depth review came from an awareness of the challenges that are inherent to overseas engagement opportunities which in the past we would have described as volunteering, and our commitment to ethical and sustainable practices. These challenges take different forms, and demand reflection and action on the part of the operating organisation.
Most critical to us in this pause phase was the question of what part Global Village played in a sustainable, impactful, approach to development. Short term overseas engagement activities are perennially popular and offer huge income generating and profile raising opportunities – but they are also subject to growing criticism, and the label of “voluntourism”.
The time limited support of unskilled participants can be seen to create dependency, harm communities through inefficient use of resources, prioritise the experience of volunteers over communities, and perpetuate stereotypes.
These are serious considerations, and ones which we wanted to give time and space to addressing through the Global Village hiatus – how could the desires of participants to meaningfully give back be balanced with an organisational commitment to ethical and responsible community engagement?
Updating the accreditation process
Part of the answer to this is updating the accreditation process, mentioned above. This includes an increased emphasis on safeguarding standards, and more guidance for those participating in Global Village in setting out expectations of appropriate behaviour, as well as the importance of recognising and reporting any concerns when they are on the build.
Team Leaders undertake annual training which includes extensive safeguarding training, as well as background checks. Alongside this is a greater focus too on that person centred engagement response.
Builds have always involved working alongside both volunteers from the local community, under the supervision of local construction experts. But now each build includes planned cultural learning activities, where participants use their downtime to learn more about local challenges, culture and practices, and enrich their understanding of how their contribution fits into a wider strategy for the country they are visiting.
Any tourist activities are strictly for after the experience is over, organised independently by participants. The fundraising component of Global Village has also been foregrounded, emphasising the importance of making a meaningful financial contribution to local projects, and ensuring that communities are being served by Global Village through increased resources.
Also, the language we use has changed too – i.e. talking about “participants” rather than “volunteers” to reflect in a more nuanced way how Global Village supports projects and how the focus is on programmes, rather than individuals.
Potential of overseas engagement
Habitat for Humanity GB is committed to demonstrating the potential of overseas engagement in fostering partnerships and mutual understanding, using it as a tool to challenge rather than perpetuate stereotypes through providing opportunities for participants to gain real insights into not just the challenges experienced in the country they are travelling to, but also the local way of life, customs, traditions and language.
This is to foster greater understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures, and empower participants with a broader perspective on global issues. Our ambition is to transform participants into passionate and motivated advocates for their mission, and strengthen their voice in advocating for everyone to have a safe and decent home. Global Village can be a powerful tool in that goal, if employed in an ethical and responsible way.
