By the end of May, Lorna Hamilton-Henry, her two children and her husband Curt, will be moving into a brand new house built for them by Habitat for Humanity Trinidad and Tobago (HHTT). The house, called the Promise Home, is the first to be built locally as part of an initiative called Women Build.
Started internationally in 1991, Women Build’s premise is to take a group of female volunteers, train them in basic construction and let them build a house. The goal is to increase the involvement and skill level of women in construction of Habitat houses. Hamilton-Henry and her family were selected for the first project because she and her husband have struggled against all odds to provide a legacy for their children, a release from HHTT explained.
Hamilton-Henry is HIV-positive and her family’s current living conditions are deplorable with termite-eaten boards and a rusting galvanise roof on the verge of collapse. HHTT is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a Non-Governmental Organisation that builds houses for those in need. Its aim is to eradicate poverty through the provision of housing. HHTT has been operational in Trinidad and Tobago for 13 years.
Hamilton-Henry first approached them about two years ago seeking assistance but was unsuccessful. “When I applied they said they weren’t building in my area Malick, Barataria, because their sponsors were mainly oil companies and they sponsored homes in their areas. “I went back again some time later and they still had no sponsors but I told them I had two sponsors, 98.1 FM and AJ Solutions who together had raised $40,000 to assist me,” recalled Hamilton-Henry, 33.
Her persistence paid off and HHTT chose her as the first candidate for the Women Build project, which began in May. “They chose me because I have challenges but I am a fighter. I do the fighting in the family. They want Women Build to be about strong women and to encourage other women to fight in spite of whatever challenges they may have and also to teach them to build a house if they can’t get anyone else to do it.” Hamilton-Henry, an HIV/Aids advocate, has had the disease for over ten years. She contracted it from a boyfriend who had it but never told her. It wasn’t until she broke up with him, married her current husband and got pregnant that she found out her ex had died from HIV-related complications. When her baby died at seven months due to complications from a rare blood type and the stress took a toll on her body, Hamilton-Henry discovered that she too had the disease. “I wasn’t always strong. For the first couple of years after I found out I was shocked, weak and in hiding. My husband stood by me. It wasn’t easy for him but he knows what I went through,” she said, crediting love and support from her family and faith in God for her strength. She is effusive in her praise for HHTT who helped to sort out issues with her land and who, she said, have been attending to her every need.
The house is almost complete with the roof, windows and electrical outlets to be installed and painting to be done. HHTT has been building Hamilton-Henry’s home with the assistance of female volunteers from all over the country including women’s groups such as the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago (Afett). “They became a part of my family, all the volunteers have embraced my family, and it has been wonderful. Many times I go up on the site and my eyes just fill with water,” said Hamilton-Henry, who urges the volunteers to take the love they have shown her and share it with other people across the country. “They aren’t just building houses, they are building families and lives,” she said. She urges other women who may be in a similar position to hers to take their faith and dreams to HHTT. “Be honest and ask for help. As women, we need to give up the idea that we are weak. I am not a weak person. I am willing to fight. Find your strength and fight. That’s the only way you’ll make it.”