A Dream To Build A Home On
The Unstoppable Nepal 100-Home Build
By One World Live

For Cynthia Kersey, celebrated motivational speaker and best-selling author of the book Unstoppable, it was the culmination of a yearlong labor of love. On December 29th, 2000, Cynthia, along with 18 other volunteers, arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. From there they were taken to the remote city of Pokara, and made the two-hour walk to a building site outside of town. There, surrounded by the legendary Himalayan Mountains, these 19 Americans began a process that would change forever not only the lives of 100 Nepalese families but their lives as well.

It was during the 1999 holiday season, with the year 2000 looming on the horizon, that Cynthia made a promise to herself, "I vowed that the next holiday I was going to be doing something for somebody else." That year Cynthia began the Unstoppable Nepal 100-home build program. Working through the Habitat for Humanity International Global Village Program and in partnership with Hollywood for Habitat, her goal was to raise enough funds to build 100 homes for 100 families in Nepal. It was an ambitious project, the largest ever attempted by a Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village volunteer, but Cynthia was determined to make it happen. Still some people wondered, "why Nepal?"

"As I did my research," says Cynthia. "I discovered that Nepal is one of the most impoverished nations in the world and in Nepal you can build a house for $2000." In fact more then 90% of Nepalese families subsist on small-scale farming, or factorywork, and earn as little as $12 a month. For these people the idea of owning a real home, with four walls and a roof, is nothing more than a dream.

For the next 12 months, Cynthia worked every opportunity to promote the Nepal build. "I shared this project with everyone I met; corporate leaders and executives, companies and audiences that I spoke to, friends, associates and family members. It was an exciting opportunity to realize that $2,000 built a home for an entire family. And working with Habitat for Humanity made it easy, because they already have the infrastructure in place."

Thanks to Cynthia's tireless devotion to her project, and the wonderful generosity of those she approached, she was able to raise the $200,000 her project needed, and when Cynthia and her fellow volunteers arrived in Nepal they hit the ground running. "It was incredible. We built three of the houses while we were there." The other houses will be built over the course of 2001. "It is such a powerful experience. These families saved for 12 years in order to buy the land for their homes, and then, because of Habitat they were able to get a house. You have no idea how great an impact a simple $2000 donation can have on a family"

Having returned from her Nepal experience, Cynthia is not content to rest on her laurels. Next year she plans to be in the trenches once again, building 100 new homes, for 100 new families in Guatemala. "I think we all need to find something that is bigger than us, to really have purpose, and meaning, and joy in our life. And while what I do in my business is very, very satisfying and I feel so blessed to be doing it, my involvement with Habitat and these projects give me greater satisfaction than anything that I do."