Women build houses, friendship, community: constructing homes with habitat for humanity anchorage.

• Author: Sommer, Susan
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Building Alaska

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Laughter and quiet music drift out the open door of a house under construction on an overcast spring day in northeast Anchorage. Inside, a handful of women in purple t-shirts layered over long-sleeve tops wield paint brushes and rollers; others tap door frames with hammers, then close the unfinished doors to see if they line up straight. Team leaders instruct patiently, showing the volunteers how to handle the tools and master the techniques. There is no yelling. No one is rushing. Cooperation and teamwork are a given. Welcome to a Habitat for Humanity Anchorage Women Build Day.

National Women Build Week

Habitat for Humanity Anchorage is part of the larger Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, nondenominational Christian housing ministry.

All Habitat affiliates welcome all people regardless of race, sex, color, age, disability, religion, familial status or national origin or any other difference to participate as a volunteer, staff or homeowner. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has helped build or repair more than 500,000 houses and served more than 2 million people around the world.

The Anchorage affiliate's mission is "to eliminate substandard housing in Anchorage, Alaska, and make affordable housing a matter of conscience and action." HFHA was founded in 1992 and has built 76 homes in the municipality. Additional Alaska affiliates assist families in Fairbanks, Mat-Su, Homer and Soldotna.

Women Build is one of Habitat's volunteer programs; in partnership with Lowe's, it trains women who want to learn construction skills and build homes and communities. National Women Build Week is held each year around the country, usually just before Mother's Day, in recognition of the housing challenges facing so many women and children globally. During the week, women volunteers devote at least one full day to a Habitat project. This year's theme, "The Build Generation," focused on recruiting and training women volunteers ages 18 to 24.

On Saturday, May 12, Anchorage's Oklahoma Commons Build 2011-2012 project at the intersection of Oklahoma Street and East Fourth Avenue attracted more than 20 women volunteers. Olympic ski champion Kikkan Randall stopped in for a lunch-time chat and painting with volunteers. Partner families visited and worked with the volunteers on the houses throughout the day, hauling paint buckets, making new friends and counting the days until they move in.

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