Hi! Thank you for stopping by my Go Fund Me page. My name is Georgia Severson, and I am raising money to travel to Cambodia with a group of other students from my school this April. We will be working on a Habitat for Humanity build site for a week, to help a Cambodian family lacking something which many take for granted every single day – a safe, secure home. 

You may be wondering, ‘Why Habitat for Humanity?’. Habitat for Humanity has an incredibly important goal and does incredible work providing homes for families in need. However, what I find the most striking is the opportunities gained by the families upon having a safe home. Anecdotal evidence demonstrates the children who live in a new, safer home have an 80% increase in school attendance.  You can read below about Malekloa, a young woman who, thanks to Habitat, can dream of becoming an engineer.

And how am I preparing for my trip? Since my volunteer team was assembled in November last year we have worked really hard to contribute as much as we can to our required donations. Every week we run a 'café' at school where we sell coffee, tea, and home-baked goods. For holidays we run much larger fundraisers, for example in December we sold Christmas cards which we made and delivered with an option of a Swiss chocolates or specialty tea and cookies. We also did a huge raffle, raffling kind donations from local businesses such as Saudi dates donated by a team member and gift cards to local restaurants favored by the students. To attain these donations the team went to local business  owners to request their support, in French! For me, this was a challenge as I'm still learning French, however I was very successful and among my successes were a gigantic chocolate bear and a Japanese fish lamp.

Another notable fundraiser was for Valentine's day - we sold gift cards to our 'Café Cambodia' (where the Severson family snickerdoodles make a regular occurrence!), we sold roses, handmade Valentine's Day cards with 'I love you' (written in the many languages spoken at my school), and homemade smores! 

At home, I’ve picked up some more chores to help fund my trip.  If you ask me the bathrooms have never been cleaned better! 

In the lead up to our trip we will learn some Khmer (the local language), learning about Cambodian culture, doing physical preparation for the construction, and of course - fundraising!

I really appreciate you taking the time to read my page and I hope you take a moment to leave a small donation - please know that your donation is appreciated by not just me but the 1/5 of Cambodians living below the poverty line.

Small side note - my grandmother, when I was writing my application and preparing for my interview for join the school's Habitat team, told me that my family has a personal connection, albeit small, to the organization. She attended the same university in Americus, Georgia, as President Jimmy Carter who worked to promote Habitat for Humanity with the Fullers to help it become the huge international organization it is today. Also, my Great, Great Aunt Edith played poker with his mother! It's a small world...
 
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Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, charitable organization which operates around the globe to work with hardworking local people to construct and renovate safe, affordable housing for challenged communities. Habitat for Humanity has its roots in a small community farm near Americus, Georgia, on the farm, Millard and Linda Fuller (the organization’s founders) developed the concept of “partnership housing.” Their concept is reflected in how Habitat for Humanity works in 70 countries around the world and 1400 American communities with the United States today.

Despite common misconception, the homes are not given to the families ‘for free’. Instead, with a combination of donations, volunteer labor, and efficient management Habitat for Humanity builds homes and then sells them to families, with a fair mortgage, who meet 3 requirements. The families must demonstrate a need for affordable housing, have the ability to repay Habitat, and be willing to partner with Habitat through ‘sweat equity’. ‘Sweat Equity’ refers to the required 500 hours of labor the families are required to contribute to their home’s construction. Crucially, the families are given a ‘hand-up’ not a ‘hand-out’, and Habitat uses the money paid back in the mortgages to build homes for other families.


With your kind donations, I will be joining the approximately 2 million volunteers who work with Habitat every year. Your donations will go towards the substantial donation Habitat for Humanity Cambodia requires from all volunteers which is used to pay for the construction of the home. I am hoping to raise $2500 towards the total cost of $4200. However, after the mortgage is paid your donations will go on to help build another home – a continuous cycle of giving. Your donation truly is a ‘gift that keeps on giving’.

Young women like Malekloa, who received a bursary to the University of Lesotho after being helped by Habitat, have been offered huge opportunities to advance in their communities from traditional roles. With a safe home, Malekloa could shift her focus from her family's lack of a safe bathroom or a lock on the front door to her studies. Now, Malekloa dreams of being an engineer. You can learn more here - https://www.habitat.org/emea/stories/remarkable-woman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZNBVXRY9Ck  

Thank you.

Georgia Severson