JOLINE'S HABITAT HOUSES
The ICM, in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity, built 8 houses in honor of its member Joline in the community of Massaca, near Boane. The build was completed together with members of the community, volunteers from the ICM and the World Bank, as well as friends and family of Joline.
After Joline's death, her family and husband decided to undertake a small project in Mozambique in Joline’s memory and honor. Joline particularly cared about women and children and was an active volunteer herself. Her family asked the ICM to organize a suitable project with a tangible output, and the ICM then contacted Mark Estes from Habitat for Humanity in Maputo.
Mark Estes and Habitat's staff assisted the ICM and Joline's family in organizing and carrying out a massive house building project involving 45 volunteers from the ICM and expatriate community, their own staff and members of the Massaca community. ICM members cooked up a storm for all those volunteers and in three days 7 houses were built in Joline's name for 7 families of women and orphaned children with inadequate or no housing at all. The build took place at the end of May 2008. Joline’s brother Wilgess flew in from Australia to participate, and Joline’s husband Diepak flew in from Switzerland together with his sisters Sonya and Sara.
At Diepak’s wish, an eighth house was built at the beginning of August 2008 with "addicted" volunteers from the expatriate community and from the ICM. Eight is a lucky number in Chinese culture as it sounds similar to the words prosper or wealth. As Joline was very influenced by Chinese culture from her mother’s side, it was a symbolic move to build eight houses.
For all their hard work, dedication and time, the ICM and Joline's and Diepak’s families would like to thank all the volunteers, Habitat for Humanity and the Massaca community. We would also like to express a big thank you to all the friends and relatives for their generosity in the form of donations, which made this project possible. But most of all, we would like to thank Joline for letting us get to know and love her.
