A Fargo man goes to Vietnam to build homes for families

"On the far side of the Earth, things are different but they are the same too,” said Pete Christopher, a Habitat for Humanity worker. “We all need a decent place to live."

And that's why Christopher and his father, along with a team of volunteers, set out to build new homes for families in need in Vietnam.

"There was 21 houses being built by 237 volunteers from actually more than 6 countries," Christopher said.

Christopher says the part of Vietnam he was building in has a huge need for suitable family homes.

"This particular part of the county is developing but still very poor,” Christopher said. “The family that we worked with this year was making on average about $87 a month."

This family that he worked with expressed a great deal of gratitude for the help of Habitat for Humanity.

"She worked with our interpreter and basically said that she hasn't really had a very happy life,” Christopher said. “She has three kids and a good husband, but her whole life has really been a struggle so having a decent place to live will really make her happy."

But while the experience of making a home for those in need is something that Christopher always looks forward to, he says this trip was special as he was able to interact with people from across the world.

"We would be in buses and stuff a lot, and a lot of kids would smile and wave and be excited to see us and talk to us when they can,” Christopher said. “With our history with the Vietnam War, that was kind of neat to see that there were really no animosities toward Americans."

He describes encounter after encounter with the people of Vietnam. He says it shows they can share these experiences together no matter where you are from.

If people are interested in worldwide trips or helping locally with Habitat for Humanity, go to https://www.habitat.org/where-we-build to find out more about the trips.