Next destination is Savannah where we are supposed to meet up with our daughter, but we took a small detour west to get new tires, visit more family, and visit The Habitat for Humanity Slum Theme Park.
Yeah, you heard right. A slum theme park.
I am sure you’ve heard of Habitat for Humanity , but did you know that they have a six-acre village in Americus, Georgia where you can see life-size Habitat houses from countries around the world? The park features “before and after” structures from different regions of the world and you can wander around and hop from one country to another without leaving Georgia.
Its official name is Habitat for Humanity Global Village and Discovery Centre. The “theme park” has two distinct areas; the first part takes you through a reconstructed slum neighbourhood, while the second takes you through new accommodations built by Habitat for Humanity. At the end of the post you can check out an opportunity to volunteer while staying in your RV, so read on.
The slum
You are immediately thrown into another world.
You can walk in and out of the structures
and stop to reflect for a minute
This slum represents housing poverty that can be found almost anywhere in the world.
What goes through the mind of an American child walking into these houses? What kind of an impact does it have on that child?
The Village walk
The second part takes you through different regions of the world and you can walk into 17 examples of houses built by Habitat for Humanity in as many different countries. There is some information about each one of the structures.
Here are some of our favourite houses (I could include them all here, but it will be a very long post and after that you will have no reason to go there because you’ve seen it all).
Mexico
Kenya
Tanzania
Zambia
India
Sri Lanka
Papua New Guinea
Brick-Making Station
Some of the new homeowners contribute to the process by making the bricks for their new homes. There is a hands-on interpretive station on the grounds where you can learn how to make mud bricks. Very Cool!
It’s a profound experience, especially for kids. Indeed, many school field trips find their way to this place; I just wish they could have a village like this in more places for more children can have the exposure. If you are in the area make a point to visit!
We had plans to join one of the Habitat builds as volunteers. This plan is now on hold just like many of our other plans.
For the RVers looking for a volunteer opportunities, Habitat for Humanity has a branch called Care-A-Vanners. You can check the scheduled builds and sign up as a volunteer while staying in your RV.
If you are interesting in volunteering for natural disaster relief, check out RVIllage and the RVillage Cares group that is dedicated to helping others in need. The group shares information about volunteers opportunities, especially after natural disaster, so head on over and check them out as well!
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When I was in Ethiopia in January I was taken by my sister to visit an old lady who lived in a hut every bit as bad as the worst there. And it butted on to the back of a very nice hotel.
Crazy world we live in. A decent house in Ethiopia probably costs less than one of those expensive Prada handbags or Gucci shoes. Gives a whole new meaning to the Old Lady That Lived In a Shoe. It’s mind boggling how little the rich can give to make this world a better place, but they just keep on taking. I’ll head over to read your Ethiopia posts now.
That was a real eye-opener. We should all be very thankful and more willing to help others. Thank you
Right? It would have been so much nicer if we could spread things more evenly in the world…
Incredible! I had never heard of this. Wow. Going on my list to visit.
Glad I could tell you about it! Take Care!
What a fascinating post and an amazing project.
We were amazed to find this place in the heart of Georgia of all places. We can’t wait for this to be over so that we can find a project to volunteer on! Take care!
Wow, I had never heard of this. I hope they made the point that these living conditions are evermore common right here in the US. The Bay Area, for example, is home for tens of thousands of people living on freeway ramps and under bridges in two-man tents and boxes. Many of the country’s Indian Reservations are similarly destitute. It’s time we re-think our priorities before we become the places we feel so badly about. Thanks very much!
You know, I had similar as I was walking along the shacks. The Global Village seems to convey a message that conditions can be improved wherever you are and they certainly have a lot of builds in the US and Canada. Just before the pandemic we were looking at volunteering in Northern Ontario, but that will have to wait a bit now.
I remember reading about this before, but I see that I never commented at the time. I grew up in a very sheltered environment in the rural Dakotas. I had no idea that people lived like this until I was about ten years old and drove through the backroads of Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia with my family. Habitat for Humanity is an amazing organization. I remember seeing pictures of President Carter, who was well into his eighties at the time, helping to build a home.
It’s a fantastic organization. I am hoping to be able to volunteer with them once this is all over!
that looks like it would be an eye opening place to visit…
If you ever have the opportunity, especially if you can bring a young person with you!
yes, it would be nice to not only expose a young person to something like this, but to experience it through their eyes.
This is an excellent point!
How do you find these off the eaten path places?
Ha! I think that first and foremost, we have a thirst for these places, so we developed a nose for them sos to say. We also don’t make too many detailed plans for our trips so this leaves a lot of room for exploration – zooming in on the maps, and intensive googling lead us to some surprises. Lastly, Atlas Obscura is our best friend and has many of these fascinating places in their database. In some cases they lead us to a new place, other times, we find places that we’ve already been, which makes us feel special 🙂 Check it out at https://www.atlasobscura.com/
What a great idea. All too often, we have no idea how lucky we have it, until we can visit and see how others are forced to live. Hood for H4H. Thanks for sharing. Allan
We really are very fortunate! We planned to join one of their builds last year, but alas, Covid smashed these plans as well. Maybe next year! Thanks for reading and commenting, Allan.