HONG KONG: Forty Hong Kong volunteers from Evangelical Community Church will set off to Sichuan next month to join in efforts to rebuild homes destroyed in last May's earthquake. The project in which the volunteers will be taking part was launched by Habitat for Humanity China in February.

Habitat for Humanity is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to building housing for the poor.

The organization aims to build 728 earthquake-proof houses, schools and social facilities replacing structures destroyed by the earthquake. Work is expected to be completed in 18 months.

The first phase of the reconstruction project is rebuilding the homes of 253 families in Taizi village, Xiaoyudong town of Pengzhou.

Habitat for Humanity China's chief executive officer Alfred Tsang said the volunteers would rebuild houses in Taizi village for a week.

He said the design of the new houses in Taizi village will be spacious enough to allow families to turn their new homes into "bed and breakfast" hostels for tourists.

"What the families need now is a sustainable community which will continue to grow and develop," he said. "In the long term, it will help Taizi village to have a sustainable economy."

Since February, two volunteer groups of 10 to 12 people have been manning construction sites, rotating each month. The work will continue into next year.

It takes about three months to build a two-storey house, with floor space averaging 100 square meters.

Tsang said the cost of the whole reconstruction project, estimated at $11.05 million, would be covered by grants from the government and by donations.

Habitat for Humanity China has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Sichuan government specifying details of reconstruction work.

Actress Karen Mok, who helped with the project last week, said she had come to understand how difficult it is to build a house with bare hands.

Mok was among the first group of volunteers to participate in the reconstruction work.

"Reconstruction work is long and difficult. Rebuilding houses for the earthquake victims is an important part of reconstruction," she said.

Reflecting how she built houses for the first time in Taizi village with local families, she said she never imagined building houses could be such hard work.

It requires heavy labor and skill at laying bricks and shaping wood, she said.

Mok said she was impressed by a group of Korean college students whom she observed passing bricks one at a time.

She said she was also touched by the sight of a baby girl who was born on the day of the earthquake.

"Although she was born in a bad environment, she is healthy now. I can see hope from the baby," she said.

(HK Edition 03/05/2009 page1)