HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ANCHORAGE GLOBAL VILLAGE CONTACT

Affiliate Office:

Habitat for Humanity Anchorage
500 W. International Airport Road, Suite E
Anchorage, Alaska 99518

(907) 272-0800 phone
(907) 272-1508 fax
hfhanchorage.org email address

Anchorage Contact:

Margaret Forbes
Global Village Coordinator

(907) 272-0800 phone
(907) 230-3785 cell...ok to call day or night
HYPERLINK "mailto:mforbes@hfhanchorage.org"

We will be staying at First Congregational Church. Please do not phone the church or send mail there. Direct calls to Habitat's office or Margaret and mail to the office. If you want to send packages ahead, send them to the office. They will be more than happy to receive your package.

2009 AIRPORT LOGISTICS - JULY 25TH, 2009

Everyone arriving by air will arrive at Ted Stevens International Airport. A large construction project is underway in the South Terminal. Because of the construction, we will be picking you up outside three different baggage claims areas. We will be picking you up in a van that has a magnetic sign on the passenger side that says Habitat for Humanity Anchorage with the international logo. As with all airports, the traffic monitors will keep us moving, so just wait we will be back around soon.

Arrivals on United, Frontier, ERA or Air Canada: Your flights arrive on concourse A of the South Terminal. Baggage claim is one level below the arrival area. Once you have your bags, exit the baggage area through door 8 and we will find you.

Arrivals on Alaska: Your flights arrive on concourse C of the South Terminal. Baggage claim is one level below the arrival area. Once you have your bags, exit the baggage area through door 1 and we will find you.

Arrivals on American: Your flights vary between concourse A and C. Follow the instructions above, depending on where your flight arrives.

Arrivals on Sun Country, Delta, Continental and US Airways: Your flights arrive in the North Terminal. There is only one baggage area. Once you have your bags, exit through the center door of the terminal and we will find you.

If you are delayed along the way, please call my cell # (916) 709-1961; Chris's cell # (916) 709-8900; or Margaret's cell # (907) 230-3785. We will arrange to pick you up at your new ETA.

SUGGESTED PACKING LIST

Dressing in Alaska...general considerations:

The weather is likely to change quite a bit during each day...it might start off 50 degrees, rainy and end up 80 degrees, sunny (or there might be a week straight of one or the other).
Clothing...Alaska is very casual. You will need work clothes and casual clothing for other activities (clothing to hike/kayak in and jeans/sweats for hanging out in the evening). You will not need a dress or tie, although you may want to bring something ever-so-slightly nicer for church (e.g. clean khakis and shirt). Think layers, both for the job site and for the cultural activities. T-shirts, long sleeved t-shirts, sweatshirts, fleece jacket, waterproof parka. The Kenai Fjords tour can get downright cold. In the past, some teams have worn parkas, hats and gloves.

However, with this said, try to travel as light as possible because you may want to leave room in your luggage to bring back gifts or souvenirs! We will hit a laundromat and wash clothes a few times during the trip. Luggage space in the vans for the weekend excursions is limited. You may want to bring a smaller duffel bag to pack in. There will be a storage area available for what we leave behind during the weekend trips. If you choose to bring expensive gear or electronics, you may want to look into getting travel insurance. Habitat cannot be responsible for articles that are lost or stolen!

Specifics for the job site:

Sturdy close-toed shoes are required (tennis shoes are ok)
Old clothing that can get dirty/stained.
A hat or bandana ( you will be wearing a hard hat on the job site but you might want to wear something under it)?
Water bottle
Day pack or small bag to contain all of your personal belongings (i.e. layers of clothing you peel off, camera, water bottle, etc).
Raincoat or poncho that can get dirty/stained
You do not need to bring tools or protective equipment unless you want to. HFH Anchorage has tools, tool belts, hard hats, eyewear, gloves, etc. However, the gloves and safety glasses are one size fits all so you might want to bring your own gloves.

Other items:

We will stop by the Alaska Club to shower after working before going to the church so another reason for the day pack or small bag?
Clothes for sleeping/moving around the church at night (remember, we're sharing sleeping areas/space)
Comfortable hiking footwear is recommended. Some hikes can be a bit steep...so good tread is important. Tennis shoes not recommended for hiking!
Sun protection...sunscreen, hats and sunglasses
Insect repellant...there will be some mosquitos on the hikes but not on the job site
Toiletries...(You may want to bring your own pain medication and stomach medication)!
Camera and lots of memory
Lightweight towel (something that dries quickly) to take on weekends and to use at the church). Towels and toiletries are provided at the Alaska Club.
Sleeping bag or bedding of your choice (HFHA has 13 sleeping bags to loan and pillows) you will need to furnish a pillow case. It is my recommendation to buy your sleeping gear in Anchorage, that way you will have more room for clothing and you can donate the sleeping gear when you leave!
Seasick remedies you may need for Kenai Fjords!

Optional:

A favorite poem or other piece of text to share for spiritual focus
Addresses of the folks who donated/supported your trip
Favorite music for the van rides
Binoculars
Shower shoes
Personal snacks if there's something you can't do without!

Discounts on Lodging at Anchorage's Bed and Breakfast places for pre or post trip!

Anchorage B&B's offer special deals to Global Village participants for pre or post trips! If you make reservations at any of the B&B's, identify yourself as part of a Habitat for Humanity Alaska Global Village team to receive the discount? Also, would you e-mail Margaret, (mforbes@hfhanchorage.org) after you have made the reservation so she can keep stats on usage of the B&B's. Thank-you!

Below is a list of Bed and Breakfast places:

Alaskan Leopard B&B offers 20% off posted rates PLUS two free nights to the first two requesters. www.alaskaleopard.com

Alaska Sundance Retreat offers 20% off of their summer rate for their Serenity Now room. The rate is $125.44 including tax per night. This room is ideal for singles but could accommodate a couple as well (full bed). When registering, reference HabitatSN08www.aksundanceretreat.com

Leopard Trax Alaska Vacations - 10% off any posted vacation package www.leopardtrax.com

India B&B - 10% off regular posted rates www.indianalasks.com

Frenchy's Adventure B&B - 20% off posted rates www.adventurebnb.com

South Bluff B&B - 25% off regular posted rates www.southbluffbandb.com

Camai B&B - 15% off single nights, 10% off multiple nights www.camaibnb.com

Mangy Moose B&B - 10% off regular posted rates www.alaskamangymoose.com

Anchorage Lakeside Jewel - 10% off regular posted rates www.anchoragelakesidejewel.com

Alaska Euroupean B&B - 10% off

Your Home Away from Home - 10% off

Earth B&B - 20% off

Alaska House of Jade - 50% off single night rate for up to three nights

Inlet B&B - 10% off

Alaska Sundance B&B - 20% off

India House B&B - 10% off

Cultural Activities!

For those who have been on previous Global Village trips, this used to be called R&R activities!

Homer, Alaska August 1st thru 3rd:

We will depart Anchorage Saturday morning, August 1st and arrive in Homer by
2:00 p.m. It is about a 5 hour trip by the time we stop for picture taking, rest stops, must see places, etc. We have double occupancy reservations for Saturday and Sunday nights in Homer. Saturday at 3:00 p.m. we will board a boat and cross the bay to Halibut Cove for dinner. Sunday, August 2nd, we will have time for hiking, beachcombing, souvenir hunting, museums, shopping. There is also the opportunity for those that want to kayak or go deep sea fishing (costs covered by participants and planned after we get there!) Sunday night we will cook our dinner over a bonfire on the beach!!! Monday, August 3rd, we will depart about noon for Anchorage and have lunch along the way!

Seward, Alaska August 7th:

6 hour National Park Tour 3:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

We will tour by boat the Kenai Fjords National Park which boasts of abundant wildlife, alpine and tidewater glaciers and breathtaking scenery with a fully narrated tour and accredited interpreters. We will also visit the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, home to a large variety of whales, seabirds, stellar sea lions, sea otters and more. Dinner will be served on the boat. The menu consists of grilled Alaskan salmon and prime rib with rice pilaf, corn on the cob, garden salad, rolls and dessert. Vegetarian option is available upon request. Just let me know if you are a vegetarian so I can pass this on?

DRESS IN LAYERS AND BRING YOUR CAMERA!!!

Habitat Families

Kong Vang and Sue Thao and their children came to Alaska from a refugee camp in Thailand via Minnesota. They have been in the U.S. a little over two years. They relocated to Anchorage because they have family here. They also felt the job opportunities were better here and it was a good place to raise their family.

Kong and Sue are both very quiet and soft spoken. Kong is a sorter for UPS and works days. Sue cleans medical offices from 5 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. so she can be home with the children during the day while Kong works.

The family currently lives in a crowded two-bedroom apartment on Government Hill and the walls are adorned with the children's artwork. Kong's sister, Yer Vang - who owns the 2008 Wells Fargo House - encouraged them to apply for the Habitat program this year. She thought they needed to be planning for their family's future!

Currently, after working until 2:30 a.m., Sue often has to park her car in a large lot and walk more than a block in the middle of the night. She is looking forward to having her own home so she will be able to park close to her home and feel safer.



The Mabudu family are French-speaking refugees from Togo. They fled Togo about nine years ago and spent eight years in Mali, where they lived in two rooms and struggled to feed their family-despite Claude's work as a school teacher. In addition to French, the family speaks Mena (the language of Togo), the local dialect of Mali and some English.

When the family applied for the Habitat program, they were asked to drive by the Taku Build site to see if it would be a good fit for their family. They kept saying, "Anything you have will be wonderful." Claude also said, "If you had told me nine months ago that I would have money even to buy my child a bike, I would not have believed you. And now we have the opportunity to buy a home!"

Claude is a very soft-spoken man who apologizes for his limited English...but does so in perfect English. He was a teacher and librarian in Togo and Mali and has just started attending UAA. His goal is to get a degree in French in order to teach school in Anchorage. He currently works at Everts Air Cargo on the evening shift so he can be home with the children during the day whild Kayissan works at the Courtyard by Marriott. Elolo is finishing high school and is in a job training program at Westmark Anchorage. Claude also works with the Refugee Hope Project here in Anchorage because he says, "I cannot forget the people who are still suffering in Africa."

The Mabudu family arrived in Anchorage in February 2008 and say they are very happy living in Alaska. They currently live in a crowded three-bedroom apartment in Mountain View. Upon being accepted into the Habitat program, Claude said, "We pray every day that God will bless the people he is using as tools to help our family." He also quoted Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

About Habitat for Humanity Anchorage

In January 1991, a group of Anchorage residents who believed in helping people help themselves began organizing to establish Habitat for Humanity Anchorage. HFHA officially affiliated with Habitat for Humanity International in June 1992 and works with people who live in substandard conditions, volunteers and donors throughout Anchorage.

To date Habitat for Humanity has built 64 new homes and rehabbed three homes in Spenard, East Anchorage, Fairview and Mountain View. HFHA has housed 347 people, including 224 children since it began in 1993.

HFHA hopes to be able to implement a year around building program soon and build an average of 8-12 homes a year. Learn more at http://www.hfhanchorage.org.

Construction is typically on new homes. Tools and safety equipment are available and each site is equipped with portable bathroom facilities.

Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage sits in a geographic bowl, bounded by the Chugach Mountains to the north and east, and by the Cook Inlet to the west and south. With a population of 265,000, it is the largest city in Alaska (41% of the state's population). The majority are Caucasian (approximately 75%), with the remaining 25 percent split between Native Alaskans, Asians, Hispanics and African-Americans.

Anchorage is the commercial center of Alaska and in many ways looks like any other major U.S. city, with shopping malls, housing developments and office buildings (primarily oil and government). There are two military bases nearby as well.

In general, team members should plan for a wide variety of weather. It may be 85 degrees and sunny in Anchorage but cold near glaciers, or it may rain the entire time and be very cold in the mountains.