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SIUC Habitat for Humanity reaches out to local migrant community
Fifty volunteers from the Habitat for Humanity SIUC chapter made their way to Cobden early Saturday morning to make improvements in the lives of people in Southern Illinois.
As the group split up to accomplish maintenance tasks in Cobden, one group of Habitat for Humanity volunteers painted and cleaned the Union-Jackson County Farm Worker Housing Association.
Chris Piasta, advisor to Habitat for Humanity at SIUC, said the SIU chapter is an affiliate working partner with Jackson County Habitat for Humanity International. He said the group is committed to improving housing conditions in Southern Illinois.
"That's why we all came out here," Piasta said.
Some habitat workers painted walls inside, while others fixed up the outside furniture. Warren Edwards, a sophomore in business from Chicago, was one of the volunteers who took time out of his Saturday morning to make living conditions better at the migrant camp.
"It is not bad work. It's kind of fun," Edwards said. "I could be at home watching TV, but I'm here doing some good."
Willie Walker, a sophomore in industrial technologies from Bellwood, has done volunteer work before, but this was his first time working with Habitat for Humanity.
"I'm trying to give back to the community, even though it's not mine," he said.
There were so many volunteers this weekend that they could not all fit on the bus that transported them from Carbondale. Walker, whose build resembles that of a football player, squeezed into a Ford Probe with four others to make the 13-mile trip to Cobden.
While community service is a requirement Walker needs to fulfill to become eligible for a scholarship he is applying for in January, it was not the only motivating factor for donating his time.
Looking around the housing facility, Walked adder, "I'm doing this so when [migrant workers] come back, this place will be in a better condition."
The Union-Jackson County Farm Worker Housing Association in Cobden houses Mexican farm workers who work seasonally in the Southern Illinois agriculture industry. Currently, the camp is almost empty. Most of the workers and their families have left the compound but will return next spring for the planting season.
The camp contains 36 housing units that can be occupied by no more than six people in each unit. The surroundings inside the dwellings are sparse with six beds, concrete floors, a dresser and a small kitchen.
Elsie Speck, the director of the housing facility, said she depends on volunteer assistance to maintain the buildings. Speck said two habitat groups come during the fall to help with upkeep, and she hopes an additional group will help in the spring.
She said the number of work opportunities for the migrant farmers are decreasing in the area.
"Years ago we would have people waiting in line to live here. Now we have vacancies," Speck said. "Our funding depends on occupancy."
Most workers are paid minimum wage or by the amount of goods they harvest. The migrant camp is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture but is funded by the farmers, who pay one-third of their wages to live at the camp.
