Oklahoma City skyscraper at night
Today we worked with the Oklahoma City Habitat for Humanity on a couple houses in a neighborhood they're building in. It is a very large Habitat chapter; they said at any time they could be working on 13 houses which is insane. They houses also are very different compared to the houses that my main affiliate, Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, work on. The Oklahoma City houses are made with brick instead of vinyl siding which is used extensively in Lafayette. Apparently the brick is more affordable in this area. Another major difference between these houses and the ones in Indiana is that the Oklahoma houses have garages, some even with two car garages. They have garages to better blend the Habitat houses in with the other houses in the neighborhood. However, these modifications raise the price of a house from about $55,000 inIndiana to $85,000 here. Tomorrow, I'd like to ask more questions about how this price difference affects potential homeowners and current homeowners.
Building was great. It was extremely hot today and we were all relieved that we weren't on our bikes even though building can be strenuous at times. We caulked and painted houses as well as wrapped one with insulation. It was hot work. We had burgers and chips for lunch provided by the Habitat. Very generous!
After the build, we had some time to kill before dinner. Sarah and I walked over to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial which is just a block away from where we're staying. It was a veteran solemn memorial full of symbolism. We don't remember about the tragedy because we were lite when it happened; however, with all the violence happening recently, we could try and imagine the disbelief of the country after the bombing. The memorial is a tribute to those who passed away and were forever changed by the bombing as well as those who fall victim to violence today.
The reflecting pool
168 chairs commemorating the 168 men, women, and children that perished in the attack.
We build again tomorrow. Can't wait to see what we'll end up doing!
A friend we found at the build site
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