Michael Nugent

Every year, Michael Nugent leads a team of Gonzaga College parents and past pupils to build homes in Zambia. This year he will be leading his 10th team. Here, Michael talks about the reasons for his long-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

In 2008, I learnt from my son’s school of Habitat for Humanity Ireland. I came to understand that Habitat for Humanity Ireland facilitates people like me to get personally involved. The school invited parents and past pupils to form a team to go with Habitat for Humanity to Zambia. We were to finance the construction of, and physically help to construct, houses for widows and orphans in need of shelter.

Upon arrival in Zambia, I was instantly and profoundly shocked by the poverty which I encountered. However, it only took a few days to see past my first impressions of Zambia and to appreciate the diversity, kindness, humour and optimism of the people of Zambia. The country is certainly poor and economically under-developed, but it is far from a primitive society.

On the contrary, I found in Zambia a society built on the best values of humanity, where patience, understanding, and time spent with family and friends are still core values.

I learnt a lot from the local builders, Habitat for Humanity staff and the people with whom we worked on that first trip. I certainly felt that I had got more out of the experience than they had. I now go back to Zambia every year and over the years I have helped to build 19 houses, but our teams financed the construction of about 100 more.

My life has changed for the better since that first venture into Zambia. The quiet example of the Zambian people has never left me and by adopting a part of their attitude to life and friends, I have become a happier person. I do not think I could pass a year without visiting Zambia. It has become a major part of my life and when I am home, I miss it every week.