A former Letterston woman Jacqueline Jones (now Spender) has recently returned from a trip which can only be described as ’the experience of a lifetime’.

Jacqueline, 48, a former pupil of Ysgol Bro Gwaun, Fishguard, now lives in Corbeil Essones, on the outskirts of Paris with her husband Barney, a sports journalist with Eurosport, and their two children Sydney, 15, and Nathaniel, 14.

“I have always believed that we are all born equal and with the same basic human rights,” says Jacqueline.

“Nourishment, shelter, security and proper sanitation are about as basic as it gets, but unfortunately for many, these are denied,”

So with these principles in mind, late last year Jacqueline decided that she needed to make a contribution, however small, to help others achieve at least some improvement in their circumstances.

Global Village is part of an organisation called Habitat for Humanity (HfH)– an international volunteer programme where teams travel to over 40 countries worldwide to work alongside communities to build housing solutions and, at the same, participate and gather experience and knowledge in local culture. HfH India was formed in 1983, and has built more than 17,000 houses and is hoping to expand the programme over the next 5 years, mobilizing over a million volunteers in the process and raising capital towards that goal. HfH volunteers work alongside local people to build or improve a place they can call home and so help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Jacqueline reminds us that whilst India’s economy is resilient amid the global recession, the South Asian country continues to face the challenge of alleviating poverty and lacks apparently, 50 to 60 million units of adequate housing.

The first challenge facing Jacqueline was the formidable task of raising the funding (approximately £2000) required by the organisers for participation in the scheme so, as well as setting up an online official account where friends and relations were able to send donations, if they were so inclined, Jacqueline embarked upon a programme of sponsored runs of up to 10k to augment the funds.

“I’ve never done any running before,” said Jacqueline “but once my fitness improved I began to enjoy it” In fact, even though there is no longer a financial incentive, Jacqueline has continued her running, often along the banks of the nearby River Seine – just for fun! Jacqueline, gratefully, reached the financial target and a few weeks before Christmas caught a flight to India on the first leg of the journey. At Goa she was met by members of the team before clambering aboard a bus to travel to the village of Karwar about 50 miles south through jungles and villages avoiding the numerous cows en route. At Karwar, Jacqueline met the other volunteers in the team before settling down in her basic lodgings which would be her home for the next fortnight. After a small opening ceremony the real work began. The task facing the volunteers was to dig out trenches to form the footings of the new house. This involved the use of shovels, pickaxes and other basic tools – including hands - in temperatures around 30 degrees. Having dug the footings, large stones were manhandled into the trenches before cement was added to complete this stage of the building process. This took a week of hard manual work by the team of eight volunteers so that the next stage could be continued by the next group which would be arriving a few weeks later. The hard labour was recognised with a closing ceremony where everyone was presented with a sari and a garland of flowers.

During the week a local film crew arrived to record the occasion for a news programme. (of this can be found on YouTube) It can also be found on Jacqueline’s ’Habitat for Humanity Global Village’ Page on Facebook. The second week involved visiting several schools on a good will and mutual education journey to learn about local culture and meet with people of different backgrounds, language, race and religion.

The school visits were particularly rewarding for the team when they were enthusiastically welcomed by both the teachers and the pupils. Each school provided its own style of welcome. At a Government Kannada School, near Kadapa the pupils read poems and stories they had written themselves, as well as singing songs, not just in English but in Sanskrit, Arabic and in their own local dialect.

“We had so much fun with these kids!” said Jacqueline. “While taking selfies, one of them asked me if I had ’Temple Run’ on my phone. Children are the same everywhere you go”.

The second school visited was The Asha Niketen School For Deaf and Mute Children.

“The children here were incredible! They put on a great show that included a funny strong man sketch and lots of dancing. Meeting these children was an experience none of us will forget,” she continued.

There was time to wander round the local markets in and around Karwar and Goa, full of local products, from vegetables and spices to exotically coloured cloths and carpets. The beautifully built Churches were also worth visiting and whilst in India the team members took advantage of visiting the beautiful sandy beaches for a dip in the Indian Ocean. One of the more bizarre experiences was the sight of friendly cows everywhere, enjoying their freedom to roam anywhere they wanted to go. Through the streets, browsing in the markets or taking 40 winks on the golden sands. For Jacqueline too there was to be a new experience. Not just a swim but scuba diving in the glorious blue sea amongst the exotic fish of the Arabian Sea.

Looking back on her adventure the lure of another one will, one day, rise again. Fund raising is difficult but the the rewards provide that extra incentive to get out there and do it.

Jacqueline’s parents, Patrick and Valerie Jones, formerly of Letterston, now live in Loveston, Kilgetty.

To join a team or learn more visit www.habitat.org/gv