Habitat for Humanity’s simple philosophy is that everyone world wide should have a simple decent home to live in.
At Marty Van Der Burg Builders, we believe Habitat for Humanity is a wonderful opportunity to give back to society by helping those who need a hand up. We have been actively involved in working for Habitat locally, as well as overseas. Marty, owner of MVDB Builders, has served for a number of years on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity Greater Auckland.
The aim is to eliminate poverty housing worldwide. We take this goal seriously. Not only have we been involved at local level but in 2005 three of our team went on a Global Village team build into the back blocks of Fiji.
After visiting Ethiopia in 2006 to check out the work Habitat for Humanity was doing, Marty came back inspired with a dream to take a team of Kiwis to Ethiopia to help make a difference by building homes with Habitat for Humanity.
In 2007 our apprentice Sebastian was able to join the first ever ‘Team Kiwi’ to Ethiopia from New Zealand.
Fundamental reasons we do this voluntary work:
- To give Kiwis an opportunity to make a tangible significant difference in the life’s of those in real poverty – by building homes.
- To give the poor and oppressed a voice in New Zealand.
- Exposure to real poverty forces us to face our own materialistic consumerist culture and helps us to become more thankful for what God has given us, and inspires us to continue to make a difference in the lives of those who suffer.
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the boarder concerns of all humanity”
– Martin Luther King Jnr