STAR employees build EDSA group’s Jubilee Home

More than 30 employees of the Philippine STAR and Pilipino Star Ngayon volunteered recently to help in the construction of homes as part of the Jubilee Homes for the Poor, a joint effort of the Catholic clergy and laity.

The 30 volunteers on Jan. 17 helped lay the foundations of one of the new two-story homes in Mapayapa and Meritville Homes in Las Piñas City, one of the sites of the housing project.

The volunteers carried cement, built supports, and dug ditches for the foundation and flooring of the new home, sponsored by the EDSA People Power Commission.

"It is fitting that the People Power Commission is the first group that acted on President Arroyo’s call to accelerate social action programs directly benefiting the poor," said EDSA Commission executive director Christopher Carrion.

On hand to represent the EDSA body were commissioners Sonny de los Reyes, Bing Pimentel, Bambam Aquino and Spirit of EDSA Foundation trustee Denise Mañosa.

Jubilee Homes for the Poor is a joint project of the Council of the Laity of the Philippines (CLP), Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and Solidarity Fund Foundation in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

The housing project aims to provide housing for beneficiaries who are selected by Habitat for Humanity’s homeowner selection committee, including a representative of the CLP and CBCP.

De los Reyes, also Jubilee spokesman, thanked the STAR employees and underscored the importance of the project as an expression of solidarity with the more than four million homeless Filipinos.

"It is especially meaningful because the project is a joint effort among the Catholic laity and clergy in direct response to the call of Pope John Paul II to welcome the springtime of Christianity," he said.

The houses awarded to the beneficiaries have a floor area of about 30 square meters with a living room, bedroom, kitchen and dining area, bathrooms and come with water and electricity.

Aside from the homes themselves, beneficiaries are also trained in primary health and sanitation, environmental care and sustainable livelihood.

In some areas, there are also Jubilee Hospices to help street-dwelling indigents who are ill, unschooled and physically or mentally disabled.

Jubilee Homes, funded mainly through donations, aims to build 600 units in two years and already have nine houses on site since its inaugural last December. Donations from the public may be given through the Philippine STAR. – Dandi Gallardo