FIRST OF MANY: The first house Mission Love Seeds built in Galilee, Philippines, was for Willy and Vanessa Garbo and their seven children.
Destin-based Mission Love Seeds began in 2004 to help feed families in the Philippines. But since that time they have expanded their ministry, and now have helped people in Destin, in Appalachia, Ky., hurricane victims in Mississippi, victims of the earthquake in Haiti, and, most recently, victims of tornadoes in Alabama.
In addition to churches, schools, water purification systems and clinics in five villages in the Philippines, MLS has now started a project to provide houses for 90 families living in the village of Galilee. Each house has an average of six family members. With one completed, a recent grant from The Grace Foundation at Grace Lutheran Church will build two more.
“The homes will be given by the lottery system,” Barbi Carroll-Hawbaker, president of Mission Love Seeds, told the Log. “The houses will provide safe shelter for the families during storms and a safer living environment.”
In recent storms, many families lost their lives because their homes, 8 x 8 or 10 x 10 shacks with dirt floors and no rest room, could not protect them from the mudslides and heavy rains.
When families cook, smoke fills their small homes and they breathe the smoke, which causes serious lung diseases in both the children and the adults.
The new houses will have safer cooking facilities. The kitchens will be built outside the house, yet attached, so the smoke and fumes will not affect the family’s health, but they can still cook under the roof when it rains.
“The kitchen has vented concert walls, with steel trusses and metal roof,” Carroll-Hawbaker said. “The kitchen is completely open on one end to allow the smoke to escape, without going into the house. There is a door that can be shut to close the house off from the kitchen.
“In time, the lives of the whole village of Galilee and surrounding areas will be affected by the new houses. These houses will make living conditions more sanitary and much safer.”
In addition to being a shelter from storms and making everyday tasks safer to perform, the houses will bring a feeling of hope and peacefulness to each family through the bright, cheerful colors they will be painted — yellow, pink, blue, green or lavender with white trim.
Fely Zapanta, the Mission Love Seeds coordinator in the Philippines, will obtain necessary permits and legal assistance, supervise procurement of materials and oversee construction.
“Each family will build their own home with the help of skilled labor in the village,” Carroll-Hawbaker said. “Once a house is built for a family, that family will help another family and keep paying it forward until all 90 houses are built. It is anticipated that construction on each house will be completed in less than 30 days, and the impact of this project will be immediate.
“We believe each dollar invested in a physical structure is another opportunity to serve the community and increase the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is anticipated this will have long-term influence in the area.”
If you would like to donate to the build-a-house program or other programs Mission Love Seeds sponsors, contact Barbi Carroll-Hawbaker at 850-865-1055, John Hawbaker at 850-865-6161 or email missionloveseeds@cox.net.
This article first ran in The Destin Log.
