M

eoung Hyun-hee, 27, had never set foot outside of South Korea until she went to Pasirhalang village in West Bandung regency, West Java, as a volunteer.

The woman, along with 16 coworkers from one of the largest corporations in South Korea, recently stayed in the village and worked together with locals to build houses and public facilities.

These young people got their hands dirty by lifting bricks, mixing cement and plastering and painting walls. They also spent their free time playing with elementary school pupils.

Meoung and her coworkers became the eyes of fellow employees of South Korean giant Samsung C&T who had donated money to non-profit housing organization Habitat for Humanity Indonesia to make a difference to people'€™s lives.

'€œI came here and we'€™re living together [with locals]. Before, I donated but I didn'€™t know how they used the money. Now, I know and I'€™ll go back to Korea and tell everyone that our money has been spent in a good way,'€ Meoung said in English.

Previously, they sat together with residents to get feedback before eventually deciding to build 30 new houses, renovate 80 damaged homes and build a clean water distribution system as well as toilet facilities.

Newlyweds Dian, 25, and wife Lisna, 17, said the communal construction of their 26-square-meter house was a dream come true. Although it was located next to a cow enclosure, the couple said they were proud to have their own house. Previously, they lived with Dian'€™s grandmother.

'€œThe vacant lot next to my grandmother'€™s house now holds a house with two rooms and a bathroom,'€ he said, beaming.

The Pasirhalang villagers also worked together to complete the construction of a water storage and filtering facility. Taryono, one of the caretakers, said they started building the facility in June. The facility, he said, would play a crucial role in providing residents with clean water during the dry season. Previously, they had to walk 2 kilometers to get clean water.

'€œThe water storage facility has a pipeline connected to 110 houses in Community Unit No. 2,'€ he said.

Habitat for Humanity Indonesia national director James L. Tumbuan said the involvement of residents in the construction and renovation of houses was aimed at building social awareness and solidarity.

He said the residents in the targeted community unit had also selected the recipients of the housing project.

'€œWe only received and evaluated [the decision] before conveying it to the donors,'€ he said, adding that Samsung C&T had supplied US$300,000 for a one-year project in the village.

James said this year, his organization would conduct programs to help 5,600 families acquire decent housing.