Charles and Kate Perry loved living in Hawaii. They loved the beautiful, warm ocean.
They loved walking on the beach and watching dolphins play in the water. But they didn't
love how expensive Hawaii was.
When the Perrys first moved to Hawaii, they worried about money.
"Everything here is so expensive," Charles said. "I don't think we will be able to stay."
However, Charles and Kate were lucky. Soon Charles got a job as a bus driver, and
Kate was asuccessful hairdresser. Many people came to her shop for haircuts. After a few years, they bought a house on Oahu.
"Not everyone is as lucky as we are," Kate told Charles. "L want to help people who
can't buy their own house.
Charles agreed, so he and Kate started to volunteer at Habitat for Humanity. This
organization helps build homes for families who do not have the money to buy them.
"We build people a house and let them pay us back a little at a time," the director told
Charles and Kate. "But they have to help build the house. Each family has to put in 500
hours of work. And you know all our workers are volunteers. No one gets paid to help us."
"We know," said Charles, "and we would love to help. Only Kate and I aren't
construction workers."
The director told them that experienced construction workers would be there to help them.On the next Saturday morning, Charles and Kate went to a building site. Other volunteers were ready to begin building the house. All weekend, Kate and Charles worked with the other volunteers. The carpenters knew how to build houses. The landscapers made the grass and gardens beautiful. Others were businesspeople, teachers, or janitors who were good cleaners.
People with construction experience told the volunteers what to do, so that everyone
helped. Charles spent most of the day cutting wood. Kate spent her time hammering nails.
After that first weekend, Charles and Kate spent a lot of their free time volunteering
for Habitat for Humanity. They learned to do more and more things. They also made many
new friends.
"Everyone is so nice," Kate said. "I like spending time with people who want to help
other people."
The best part was working with the new homeowners. Kate and Charles were impressed with how hard these families worked. Husbands, wives, and children all helped
build their new houses. As the houses were going up, the families became more and more
excited.
"It's wonderful," Charles said. "We're making people's dreams come true.