Building on a Foundation of Service

At the start of their social impact project in Romania, over forty young adults from across Europe began at the bottom.

Literally. Rock bottom.

Many climbed into holes more than a meter deep, scooping thick clay into buckets that others hauled to the surface. Nearby, volunteers pushed wheelbarrows across the site while their peers mixed sand, gravel, water and cement before filling hole after hole with fresh concrete.

Over the course of the week, Habitat for Humanity Romania turned these mostly inexperienced volunteers into homebuilders. Working under the direction of Habitat construction professionals, the young adults built side by side with Romanian families who will eventually call these houses home.

The project brought together Habitat for Humanity Romania and the Church in a shared effort to provide safe and secure housing. The Church also supported Habitat's work through donations for construction materials and equipment.

Before the first shovel entered the ground, Adrian “Adi” Magda, volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Romania, predicted the week would build something beyond houses.

“Their hearts will change,” he said.

For all the activity above ground, the week's work began beneath it.

“Any structure has to have a foundation in order to be stable, long-lasting, and secure,” explained Elder John Dickson, a retired construction superintendent serving with his wife as full-time humanitarian missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Building Side by Side

Families participating in Habitat's Romanian housing program contribute 500 hours of labor—not only on their own homes but also on those for other participating families.

Adi describes Habitat's approach as “a hand up, not a handout.”

“Basically, families are helping each other,” he explained.

Among them was Raymond, a father of two helping to build the home his family will eventually occupy.

He currently shares a two-bedroom apartment with his wife, their 8- and 10-year-old children, and his parents. After years of renting and moving, owning a home had seemed almost impossible.

“This is a dream coming true,” Raymond said. “Sometimes I can't believe this because I've been working and fighting for it for so many years.”

For his children, he said, having a permanent home will be a “180-degree turn”—“the opposite of how I lived.

Nearby, Anca was working toward a different kind of change. She and her husband, Petre, have three children, including a 23-year-old daughter with a mental disability who uses a wheelchair and depends completely on Anca for daily care.

Anca described having a home of their own as a “blessing.” What mattered most, she said, was simple: “For my girl.”

For Adi, a home of your own provides a different kind of foundation—“the place where you can start your universe.”

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Learning as They Build
For Mauro Dicataldo, a 34-year-old Italian living in Paris, the week offered something different from other Church gatherings he had attended with young adults. This time, they had come together to serve.
 

“I came here to help people and learn at the same time—to build, use my hands and not just type on a keyboard, but give my strength and my energy to do something concrete,” Mauro said.

Then he met some of the people who would call these houses home. Although “the language barrier is real,” Mauro said, handshakes, smiles and looking people in the eyes required little translation.

Down in a foundation hole, he learned another lesson. Mauro could fill buckets with dirt, but he needed volunteers above him to haul them away.

“I came to realize that I cannot work by myself, rather I need to rely on other people,” he said.

Melinda Nussbaum, a dentistry student from Switzerland and member of the organizing committee, participated in a similar service project in Bulgaria last year. She returned because she remembered the bond created when people serve together.

In Romania, meeting one of the future homeowners changed how Melinda thought about the home waiting for her in Switzerland.
“It definitely humbles me,” she said. “When I go home, I'm for sure going to feel more grateful for what I have.”

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Learning to Lean on Each Other

Sometimes the lessons came unexpectedly.

Letizia Furia of Italy was walking backward with an empty wheelbarrow when she failed to see a freshly poured foundation hole behind her. “I realized it was too late because I lost balance,” she recalled. “I saw the concrete, and I realized, ‘Oh no, I'm going to fall.’”

She landed knee-deep in wet concrete.

After two other young adults pulled her free, Adi helped wash away the concrete, while a senior missionary cleaned her shoes and socks.

Letizia emerged unharmed, able to laugh about the mishap—and a little wiser about navigating construction sites.

“I think this is one of the things that volunteering brings to people,” Adi said, “learning how to support each other and work together.”

Pushing Their Limits
As the week progressed, the young adults became more capable—and increasingly willing to attempt unfamiliar work.

Through his work with Habitat, Adi has seen volunteers from every walk of life learn to support one another, step outside their comfort zones and work beside families they had not known before arriving in Romania.

“This drive to help other families … makes them push their limits,” he said.

Elder James W. McConkie III of the Europe Central Area Presidency also joined the volunteers at the construction site. For him, their willingness to serve reflected something fundamental about discipleship.

“The natural yearning of a disciple is to do the kinds of things that Jesus Himself would do if He were here,” Elder McConkie said. “Building homes, building opportunities for those in need—that's where He would start.”

That discipleship, he said, also means recognizing and joining the good already being done by others. “We want to join with those doing good wherever we find them.”

Raymond, one of the future homeowners, saw their efforts from the other side. “They have no idea how much this means to us,” he said.

Elder Dickson spent 30 years supervising large commercial construction projects in and around Washington, D.C. In Romania, the former civil engineer found himself down in a foundation hole digging dirt.

As he worked, he thought about Mihaela, a single mother he had met at the construction site who hopes to make one of these houses home for herself and her 14-year-old son.

“I could pay someone to do this instead of me doing it,” Elder Dickson said. “But I'm doing it, and I'm doing it for a mom who's got a child with no place to call her own.”

For Elder Dickson, that changed what the work meant. “That's the real thrill,” he said, “doing something that I wouldn't normally do, but doing it because I know a family needs a place to live.”

Building on a Rock

Throughout the week, the young adults mixed and moved concrete, carried cement and dug foundations.

“The hardest part about the work is doing the same thing over and over again for hours and not getting discouraged,” Mauro said, “hoping that the muscles will keep on going until the end of the day.”

As he worked on the foundations, Mauro saw a parallel with his faith.

“Our foundations need to be solid,” he said, “especially our faith in Jesus Christ. He's our rock upon which we should build all that we do.”

The young adults left Romania before the houses were finished. By then, however, the work was already moving beyond the foundations they spent the week building. Walls were taking shape, offering the first glimpse of the homes that will eventually belong to families like Raymond's, Anca's and Mihaela's.

But first came the foundation. And perhaps that was fitting.

The young adults came to Romania to help build homes for others. Along the way, they began thinking more deeply about the foundations of their own lives.