"One World House" Opens Eyes In Fair Haven

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“One World House” Opens Eyes In Fair Haven

by Melinda Tuhus | May 27, 2010 6:49 am

(10) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Schools, Fair Haven

Melinda Tuhus Photo Uriel Perez knows all about living in a tiny house with lots of relatives, like his grandparents’ house in Puebla, Mexico. So he was right at home in the “One World House,” which is parked on the stage of the auditorium at Fair Haven School and open for student tours.

Perez (pictured), who is 15, is an eighth-grader in Michael Soares’s ESL class at the school. He’s been in the U.S. for about a year. He said the house he used to live in was a little bigger than the One World House, which measures eight feet by eight feet by nine feet tall.

The walls and roof of the house on display in Fair Haven are made from corrugated sheet metal. There’s no floor, no windows, and just a piece of cloth to cover the door opening.

The concept behind the One World House is to demonstrate how differently many others from around the world live, compared to Americans. The idea is also to educate visitors about the disparate impacts of climate change. People living in substandard housing in the global South are already feeling the impact in terms of deeper droughts and more powerful storms. As sea level rises, those in island nations are facing the loss of their land.

The house is a project of the New Haven-Leon (Nicaragua) Sister City Project with collaboration from student groups at Yale, Quinnipiac and Fairfield universities. It is one more collaboration among many with the Fair Haven school. (Click here for a previous story.)

Uriel Perez said his grandparents’ house in Mexico was made of wood planks, allowing a little light through the chinks, with a tile roof and a dirt floor, and no windows. He lived there with almost a dozen relatives—his parents, his aunt and uncle, siblings, cousins and his grandparents. There was no running water or electricity. Cooking was done outside. People slept on the ground with just a coverlet, no beds.

“For me,” he said in Spanish, “it was fine. I didn’t have to be rich.”

Now he lives with him immediate family in a four-room apartment in the Dwight neighborhood. It has an indoor kitchen, bedrooms with beds, a bathroom. He said now that he’s moved up in the world, he would no longer feel so comfortable in his former surroundings. “It’s very different. I feel better now that I’ve come here.”

Perez, whom Soares described as a gifted photographer (he was one of the student exhibitors at a recent Arte show), was the only student willing to tell a reporter about his humble origins in his home country. Others—from Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico—said they knew other kids who lived in such poor houses, but said they lived in bigger, better ones (even though they had acknowledged otherwise privately).

Soares (pictured) pointed out one of the photos on the side of the house. Another one showed how much Arctic sea ice has melted in the past couple of decades.

“The kids that came from islands, like Puerto Rico, could relate to that because they know when you put ice in a glass of water, the water level rises as the ice melts.” He added that a lot of the kids who see the house say it reminds them of the houses they saw in Haiti via television coverage of the January earthquake.

As a group of second graders (pictured above) got ready to enter the house, Soares asked them, “How many people do you think could sleep in here?” The kids crowded inside, Soares shut the door flap, and it became pitch dark. The kids hit the floor (actually the stage), giggling. There were ten of them covering every inch of the space.

Soares, who serves on the board of the Sister City Project, said he had some personal experience with a tiny house; he lived in one even more primitive during part of his stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nicaragua from 2000 to 2002.

Perez is about to graduate from Fair Haven K-8. He’s heading to high school at Eli Whitney Vocational Technical School. He aims to become a carpenter.

“I love working with wood,” he said, adding, “I plan to build houses.”

Where would he build them?

“Wherever,” he said with a smile.

Comments

posted by: abg on May 27, 2010 7:20am

great project—way to go, NHLSCP!

posted by: mary rosario on May 27, 2010 8:38am

Great collaboration with student groups,and the students of Fair Haven.Mr.Soares and Uriel great JoB.!!!!!!!!!!

posted by: sjbj on May 27, 2010 9:18am

Everyone in the US should have to visit something like this…we are such a spoiled, self-centered nation.

posted by: SLA on May 27, 2010 9:42am

Great work Michael and New Haven/León Sister City Project. And wonderful article Melinda.

posted by: mary lesser on May 27, 2010 1:29pm

It was great to see coverage of this project. Uriel, thank you for sharing your story.

Mary Lesser

posted by: Henry Lowendorf on May 27, 2010 4:56pm

Congratulations!

There is much more to education than what is laid down in books. The One World House is tangible. Let more of our children experience the world outside their neighborhoods and what appears on the screen: the sea, the forests, other countries. Is the House scheduled to appear in any of our suburban schools?

Is the photography exhibit, Suenos Americanos, from Fair Haven Middle Schoolers still up? It’s a marvelous testimonial to what young, creative minds do with a camera. Entirely snapped by seven 8th graders from Fair Haven School, the exhibition was at 19 Grand Avenue (on the corner of Front Street).

posted by: Jonafe787 on May 27, 2010 9:11pm

The teachers and principal at Fair Haven K-8 are amazing. They work with who ever comes through their doors. I met a couple of those bilingual teachers and they are truly dedicated to their students and their families. They do triple duty, teaching English, helping students and their families adjust to a new country, and the curriculum.

I live in Fair Haven and love my community school!

posted by: camzo1967 on May 27, 2010 9:19pm

I had the opportunity to meet Uriel and his classmates at their photography exhibition. It was inspirational. What is going on at Fair Haven Middle School? Seems like those teachers are providing students with opportunities that are not only CMT practice. I like that. Those young people put their heart into their photography and to hear them explain each photo was very cool. Soares and Uriel should proud.

The Nicaragua group sounds interesting. Its a small world when it comes to climate change.

posted by: Doug Bowman on May 28, 2010 8:06am

Great article. Uriel Perez is an amazing young man and his photography work can still be seen at the suenos americanos exhibition at 19 Grand Avenue. There are currently no official showing times but free private tours can be arranged by emailing:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
The one world house is extremely eye-opening. I’m glad our students were able to participate in this project. Good stuff, Soares

posted by: Sara Hart on June 1, 2010 11:32am

Amazing job Mike and FHS students! Proud to work with all of you each day!

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