Holy Cross Students Travel to Africa this Summer to Build Homes

WORCESTER, Mass. – Twelve Holy Cross students will travel to Kenya, Africa this summer to build homes with Habitat for Humanity International. The group will depart on June 3 and return three weeks later. This is the fourth year that Holy Cross has sent a contingent to Africa.

Habitat for Humanity International will provide a guide for the student volunteers during their travels in Africa. Mark Quinto, a 2000 graduate of Holy Cross, will travel with the group as a leader. While in Kenya, the volunteers will stay in homes with African families, in houses previously built by Habitat volunteers. Holy Cross is one of only a few colleges with a Habitat for Humanity International affiliation.

Approximately 90 Holy Cross students submitted applications for the program last fall. Only 10 were chosen based on interviews and written applications. Jess Resch ’01, a political science major from Tampa, Fla., is traveling with the group for her second consecutive year. She describes her experience last year as "deeply moving and satisfying. We immersed ourselves in the African culture, eating their food and learning their culture. It was very rewarding to help build a home for a family that I got to know and understand."

The group will bring their own tools and make homes from such supplies as clay, brick and wood. There is no running water, phones or electricity in the area in which the students will live. During the course of their stay, the group will construct or complete three houses.

Each student will have to contribute $3300 for traveling expenses and building supplies. In an effort to defray the costs, Holy Cross students have held numerous fund-raisers and are currently soliciting donations from individuals and organizations.