King's Academy, February 15, 2010—Students and teachers set off for Ghor Al Safi—near the south end of the Dead Sea—to participate in a Habitat for Humanity build  Ghor Al Safi over the weekend of February 5. Seven students volunteered their time to extend a helping hand in building a house for a growing family, overseen by Habitat.

Habitat for Humanity is an international charity organization that builds houses for families who could otherwise not afford them on a loan basis. The program uses volunteers as builders and donations to provide the building supplies. The homes are eventually paid off by the families living in them through a program that is affordable for both the home owners and Habitat. Since 1976, when Habitat was founded, the organization has helped build and rehabilitate over 300,000 homes across the world.

King's volunteers left campus on Friday morning for the overnight excursion. The students-Sterling Beecroft '11, George Steele '10, Hunter Bell '12, Ghayth Sandouka '11, Swara Salih '10, Hashim Attar '10 and Ghassan Gammoh '10-were accompanied by Faculty Member Michael McLaughlin and  greeted by George Clarke, the host volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity Jordan.

Volunteers were then introduced to Sheikh Suliman, chairman of Ghor Al Safi, who outlined the struggles that the community dealt with on a daily basis.

"It showed a lot of gratitude for him to come out there and thank us after having gone through that," said Beecroft.

After taking a couple of pictures with the chairman, the workers were brought to the build site. Some piles of sand and stacks of concrete blocks awaited the volunteers who took part in a cement-mixing tutorial and learned the steps and formations of the "brick dance line" before beginning their day's work.

Over the course of the weekend, students went to work on four exterior walls and exceeded working expectations. The next group to continue the build will now be left with less work to do thanks to the commitment and efficiency of the King's building squad.

"I was surprised by how well the trip went," said McLaughlin. "Not only did we contribute to the region but the program gave a lot back to us. It brought the group together and was an enjoyable experience for everyone."