While evergreens are known as an enduring symbol of the holidays, in the construction world, they’re used to celebrate a building carefully reaching its final height.

Known as the topping out ceremony, the tradition of hoisting an unadorned Christmas tree atop a project-in-progress has been around for ages, but many don’t really know what it stands for, nor its origins.

Natural Sources

In 8^th-century Scandinavia, where the first topping-out ceremonies took place, people used sheathes of grain instead of trees to commemorate reaching the highest point. But soon after, topping-out ceremonies spread throughout northern Europe, and people eventually began replacing plants with trees for the process.

Many cultures are rooted in nature, explaining why some see the growth of a tree to be representative of a growing building.

The custom has remained relevant in modern times, even as buildings are getting taller and taller. The ceremony is still being performed in northern Europe, and has even reached the shores of the U.S. and Australia.

A Meaningful Planting

Since topping-out ceremonies showed up in Europe, the tree has been placed on top of structures to celebrate a safe construction site (thus far), hope for a secure completion of a project and also as a blessing for the building and its future inhabitants.

But, like all ancient traditions, there has been speculation on the ceremony’s original purpose.

While most agree that the construction custom may have started in Scandinavia, there are others who claim the practice started in 2700 B.C. Egypt, where slaves placed a plant on top of a pyramid to honor slaves who died during its construction.

In the U.S., there is a tale that the first high rises were built by Native Americans, who believed that no man-made structure should be taller than a tree.

Later on, American ironworkers would adapt the topping out ceremony more elaborately, attaching an American flag to the tree, and also painting and signing the steel beam before it’s placed.

It’s observed simply because ironworkers are the first to reach the top – similar to how mountain climbers of astronauts celebrate reaching their destination.

Tree Top

Regardless of the actual story behind the topping out ceremony, it’s still a welcoming sight to see on a construction site during the holidays. It indicates that the project is going smoothly, and also is an optimistic harbinger for the building’s future.

It’s an unlikely place to see a lush evergreen, but the custom shows how our roots have stayed the same, even though modern materials, such as steel, have taken over heavy industry.

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

When ski resorts finally open for the season, flocks of winter sports enthusiasts head to the mountains teeming with excitement as they sit down on the almighty chairlift for the first run of day.

It wasn’t always so easy, however, to get to the top of the spotless sun-kissed peaks beckoning to be tread upon. Before the chairlift, skiing required a mountaineer’s mindset, and the willingness to climb for most of the day for one or two epic runs back down to the bottom.

This all changed when a former steel worker named James Curran forever changed the sport of skiing by inventing the steel chairlift in the winter of 1936.

The Beginning of New Skiing Era

Sun Valley, Idaho is a well-known ski destination, and a favorite region in the heart of the United States for the rich and famous to come enjoy the beautiful winter alpine scenery. Little known, however, is the fact that Sun Valley was where the world’s first three chairlifts were installed, replacing the aging tow-rope system.

During 1936 and 1937, James Curran, who worked for the Union Pacific Railroad which owned the Proctor Mountain Resort, drew inspiration for the first chairlift design from banana conveyor systems.

Curran’s chairlift was developed by re-engineering banana hooks, adding chairs and creating a machine with a greater capacity to power the steel cables up and down the mountain. The chairlift was a great success, and was the catalyst for the evolution of today’s alpine sports.

Drawing from Curran’s chairlift design, the first ski lift would be installed in present-day Czech Republic in 1940, bringing new enthusiasm in the sport of skiing to Europe.

How Chairlifts Built the Modern Alpine Sports Industry

Fast-forwarding a few decades and snowstorms later, the chairlift, although now much more technical, has not seen a massive redesign. The basic characteristics of the chairlift, including the steel ropes that carry the structure and equally-spaced chairs ranging from two to eight passengers, remain the same.

Because of the easy access to high peaks and extensive trails, alpine sports have seen much growth in mainstream popularity. Riders of all ages queue at the bottom of chairlifts, waiting for their turn to be swept up and shuttled to the top of their favorite runs.

During operating seasons, 1,200 to 4,000 skiers and snowboarders are transported up mountains every hour depending on chair size. The chairlift’s reliability and trustworthy fortified steel construction enable riders to bob up and down as they climb upwards sometimes hundreds of feet above the mountain, without doubting the safety of their journey.

Chairlift manufacturers like the Doppelmayr Garaventa and Leitner Groups, are constantly improving the design and safety features of their lift systems. “All ropeway types are planned, designed and built using the very best technology,” said a representative from Doppelmayr Garaventa. “All of our surface lifts, chair and gondola lifts are always state of the art.”

Chairlifts are a huge contributing factor in what continues to drive the multibillion-dollar ski and snowboard industry. Construction and technical advancements now allow lifts to move more people up mountains, faster, and more safely, ultimately allowing for more runs throughout a winter’s day.

The Future of the Chairlift

Climate change is playing a large part in slowing global ski resort growth and the building of new chairlifts. Less snowfall and shorter operating seasons have been driving the cost of lift tickets to rise astronomically, affecting the number of newcomers to try out winter sports.

This, however, has not deterred ski meccas like Colorado in continuing to pursue the ultimate skiing and snowboarding experience for riders, by adding new chairlifts to resorts and expanding terrain.

For the chairlift, its steel construction will allow it to weather any condition and hopefully will be carrying skiers and snowboarders up mountains across the globe for many more years to come.

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

Despite it’s fall, however, a recent start-up boom, supported by world class universities leading research into robotics, medicine and computer science, has breathed new life into the western Pennsylvania city. Bigger tech companies such as Facebook, Uber and Google have also recently set up local offices there.

Boasting a steady supply of new jobs, the city has begun to attract educated young people seeking new careers and opportunities.

This younger demographic has driven Pittsburgh’s booming food scene into the national spotlight. Zagat named the city America’s No. 1 Food Town of 2015 and Saveur called it a “beer and spirits destination.”

Pittsburgh’s recent transformation has enabled the city to once and for all shake its lingering reputation as a smoggy, blue collar steel town. But it has not forgotten its roots.

Blast Furnace Fun

In an effort to continue to revive the city, tourism officials and preservationists are now adapting defunct factory sites to tell the story of how Pittsburgh made its name.

The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area is one example. This attraction has transformed the non-functioning Homestead Steel Works site, which at its peak produced a third of the nation’s steel, into an area that commemorates the rich history of the industry. Perhaps the highlight of the attraction is the guided tour of the Carrie Blast Furnaces.

Constructed in 1906, Carrie Furnaces 6 and 7 stood at the heart of U.S. Steel’s Homestead Works until 1979. At one point, the furnaces and the steelworkers who labored in them produced more than 1,000 tons of iron per day. These 28-meter-tall structures presently stand as sentinels to Pittsburgh’s steel heritage.

On the tour of the furnaces, guides—some of whom are former steel mill workers—lead visitors through the iron-making process, sharing the story of the site’s technology, workers and culture from its prime to the post-industrial present.

Visitors to the Rivers of Steel Heritage Area can also explore other converted industrial facilities, cycle the Great Allegheny Passage bike trail and admire numerous public artworks crafted from steel.

Symbolic Steel

Steel art can also be found in other parts of the city, with The Workers being one of the more famous installations.

Originally commissioned as a small project in 1997 by the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning, this collection of sculptures now stands big and tall, celebrating the Steel City’s heritage in an unconventional but impactful way.

The 6-meter-tall sculptures of steel men at work were fashioned from leftover scrap metal from abandoned Pittsburgh steel mills, an iron hot-metal ladle donated by another mill, and the ties from bridges that once carried steel’s raw materials across the city’s rivers. For 15 years, the creators of the project—24 artists of Pittsburgh’s Industrial Arts Co-op—collaborated with industrial, foundation and political entities to make this massive artwork a reality.

The mediums and techniques utilized to create The Workers are a testament to the unions that have set Pittsburgh in motion: unions between its people, workers and capital; between the land and the rivers that run through it; unions of the past, present and future.

The Workers commemorates the rich industrial steel heritage of the Pittsburgh region and honors the individuals who contributed to it, but also celebrates the modern evolution of one of the country’s rust belt and industrial cities into a contemporary, lively metropolis for people to live, work, create and contribute.

Steel City Highlight: Birmingham, USA

Steel City Highlight: Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

With human influence, iron becomes a material of warmth, offering sustenance, shelter and safety. Here are a few ways how.

Fishing for a Solution: How an Iron Fish is Treating Anemia

Resource: http://www.luckyironfish.com/

Apart from being a useful material, iron is also an essential part of our daily diet.

Anemia, a condition in which there is a lack of red cells or of hemoglobin in the blood, often the result of an iron deficiency, can leave people feeling weak, cold and tired. It is the most common and widespread nutritional disorder in the world, affecting approximately 2 billion people globally.

Despite a significant international effort to fortify food staples and to provide iron supplementation programs specifically aimed at vulnerable populations, iron deficiency continues to increase worldwide.

But that may change soon, thanks to a solution created by a group of Canadian health workers in Cambodia.

In 2008, fish-shaped cast iron ingots were developed by the group to provide dietary supplementation to individuals affected by iron-deficiency living in poverty. When placed in a pot of boiling water, the ingots release elemental iron into the water and food being cooked.

The solution was considered such a huge success that in 2012 the Lucky Iron Fish Project was formed to develop the iron fish on a larger scale, promote the product in rural areas and distribute it to non-governmental organization partners.

The inexpensive iron lumps shaped like smiling fish are 7.5 centimeters long and have a lifespan of about five years.

The Lucky Iron Fish, which is said to release iron at exactly the right concentration to provide up to 90% of the recommended daily iron intake for an entire family, is now being used by thousands of Cambodians. In fact, more than 50,000 Lucky Iron Fish have been sold worldwide and the solution has helped to correct iron deficiency in about 90,000 people and more than 15,000 households.

Home, Steel Home

The power of iron is even more impressive when combined with love and goodwill. A perfect example of this is POSCO’s Happy Steel House—a project that helps those who have recently lost their homes get back to normal life as quickly as possible.

The Happy Steel House was first established by POSCO in 1996. These homes are built to be resistant to natural disasters like fire, earthquakes and storms, but more importantly can be constructed within two weeks.

Since 2015, POSCO’s Happy Steel House has become even sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing, thanks to POSCO C&C’s manufactured panels. In addition, POSCO’s Steel Solution Marketing Team developed an external material product through POSCO A&C’s unique Flow Coating—a technique that produces colored steel plates. The end result was a Happy Steel House with an entirely new look.

More significant than the improved design was the fact that the base of the Happy Steel House grew sturdier with every new home that was built, including those constructed for 16 Korean families who lost their homes to fires. This was achieved by applying the expertise of POSCO’s executives, staff members and global youth volunteers, as well as warmth and caring for those in need.

Building Bridges as Strong as Steel

POSCO’s mantra of volunteering and sharing is also playing an active role in other parts of the world. In Vietnam, where tropical monsoons are common, POSCO built a steel bridge for communities affected by floods.

Due to heavy rainfall six months a year, Vietnam’s bridges often become submerged under water during the wet season. This makes transportation a huge safety concern for locals.

What’s even more worrying is the fact that many young students use these bridges on a daily basis to commute to school. Since most of the wooden bridges do not have a handrail, it is even more dangerous for pedestrians, as they are unable to see where the bridges begin and end. As such, young children often trudge through flooded areas blindly in an effort to make their way across to get to school in time.

In order to secure safe traveling, POSCO built a steel bridge in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province’s flood area, Da Bac, with the help and hard work of employees and affiliates.

The “POSCO Vietnam Holdings – Steel Bridge” boasts steel handrails to provide a safe and sturdy way for the students to walk to school.

POSCO’s steel bridge was successfully completed with the help of POSCO’s global youth volunteers, POSCO A&C’s design, POSCO SS VINA’s supplies and POSCO E&C’s handrail work and construction. Thanks to these contributors’ talent and love, students and local residents in Da Bac are getting around safely, even during the wet season.

From iron health supplements to the roofs that shelter us to the bridges that help us reach our destination, iron is keeping us warm, happy and healthy.

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

To analyze and explain the role of steel in the world, POSRI (POSCO Research Institute) has created Asian Steel Watch, a bi-annual journal that features content focused on the Asian steel industry.

This new journal is published in English and will cover current issues, as well as market forecasts and analysis. It is published by POSRI, which provides research-based consulting services for the steel industry.

POSRI, a subsidiary of POSCO, investigates the current economic issues and industries related to steel, making it the perfect organization to publish an informative and interesting journal about steel.

Asian Steel Watch provides in-depth analysis of the ever-changing trends in supply and demand and imports and exports, as well as the prices of steel products. It will also offer a broad analysis and insight into Asia’s macroeconomic environment and the trends in key Asian steel-consuming industries.

Ohjoon Kwon, President of POSCO, has big plans for this new publication, noting, “Asian Steel Watch will provide useful information that will guide governments and enterprises through current issues in the Asian steel market, including oversupply, customs duties, antidumping measures and environmental regulations.”

The steel industry supports each country’s manufacturing sector and overall economy. In order to maintain a stable economy, it’s essential to have access to timely information and analysis about the steel industry.

President Kwon stated, “At a time when information is power, Asian Steel Watch provides a firm foundation for the collaborative growth of Asia’s steel industry, further contributing to the stability and prosperity of the global steel market.”

Coming Up

In the first edition of POSRI’s Asian Steel Watch, a number of interesting stories, from “The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity” to “China’s Steel Industry Meets the New Normal” were covered.

Some of the subjects explored in the bi-annual journal will be featured on The Steel Wire over the next few months.

The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity: Overcapacity has long been blamed as the main cause of the recession in the steel industry (especially the price decline), but this claim has not yet been backed by enough systematic analysis. Through an expert Q&A with Dr. Rod Beddows we’ll answer the most common questions regarding overcapacity.

The Evolution of the Steel Production Process: The steel industry has continued to grow thanks to the superior characteristics of steel materials and economic mass production. We’ll discuss how mankind first began making steel using charcoal during the Iron Age, as well as how the steel production process has developed since then.

China’s Steel Industry Meets the New Normal: China’s economy maintained a double-digit annual growth rate for decades, and then slowed to around 7% in 2012. Chinese authorities have described this as the “new normal” state. Now China’s steel industry is aiming to find a new way of growth.

Korea’s Next Big Manufacturing Leap: Innovation Based on Culture, Creative Workforce, and Technology: Concerns are mounting over Korea’s manufacturing sector. Growth continues to taper, and profits keep falling. This is due largely to the sluggish global economy, which is struggling to recover, and to Korea being nudged out by its rivals, China and Japan.

Increased Trade Barriers in Southeast Asia Following a Rapid Rise in Steel Imports: Many Southeast Asian countries have concerns over surging Chinese steel imports and the subsequent loss of competitiveness of their steel industries. Amid an ongoing supply glut in the global steel industry, Southeast Asia has become a major destination for excess steel products from China.

Related Link:

In Southeast Asia, Surging Imports Lead to Rising Trade Barriers

The Future of Manufacturing in Korea

China’s Era of New Normal and its Implications on the Steel Industry

The Evolution of the Steel Production Process

The Myth and Reality of Global Steel Overcapacity

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

The tradition began when a Parsi banker wanted to have home cooked food regularly delivered to his office and gave the responsibility to the first ever dabbawala. It soon caught on among others and the demand for the meals-on-wheels service soared. 

Steel, the Preferred Metal for Your Meal

While the wala, or carrier, is no doubt the driving force behind the system, the dabba, or lunchbox, is a central component of India’s meal delivery culture. Widely used throughout the subcontinent, these multi-tiered “tiffin” (Indian English for a light midday meal) carriers are generally made from stainless steel and can keep food warm for up to three hours.

In addition to the tiffin boxes’ warming properties, the fact that they are made of steel means they offer plenty of other benefits, too. For one, they don’t leach toxins like plastic, ensuring food is safer, and they’re also more hygienic and easier to clean than those made of other materials—a big plus when it comes to rinsing off curry, vegetable and dal residue. Furthermore, the containers are durable and sustainable, meaning they don’t damage easily and can virtually last a lifetime.

Similar types of lunchboxes are also commonly used in other parts of the world, such as Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa, as well as parts of South America and Europe. Like India, the boxes in these containers hold much more than just food. They often contain mementos—a flower, a movie ticket, an apology note—and more importantly, love from the cooks, who are usually hardworking housewives. But the journey these steel boxes must undergo is a lengthy one—one that takes a dabbawala an entire day to complete. 

A Day in the Life of the Dabbawala

By 9 o’clock every morning, the dabbawala has hit the streets, pedaling his bicycle—one designed with extra iron to withstand a heavier load—through the congested Mumbai traffic to his assigned area. As many older buildings are not equipped with elevators, the dabba climbs up and down the towering residences to collect the tiffin boxes from homes.

By the time he completes the collection, it’s already about 10:30am. He now carries the 30-40 lunchboxes he has accumulated on his bike, undeterred by the poor road conditions, mud, traffic and merciless Mumbai monsoons that plague the region every summer.

He then reaches the nearest railway station where fellow dabbawalas gather and sort the tiffins by destination utilizing a simple but seemingly flawless coding system. By now, most of his tiffins are handed over to other teams dispersing to various parts of the city. He joins one of them, and with his teammates, transfers different tiffin boxes in crates and hastily transports them to the railway platforms on his head.

If a tiffin is on a complex route, it is further sorted on the railway platform where even more dabbawala teams work together to move the wooden crates into the trains. With the boxes put away in the luggage compartments, the men can take a short break before arriving at their assigned stations around noon.

Racing against the clock, the wala rushes out of the station with the lunchboxes atop his head and once again disperses them among other teams. Joining yet a different group, he and the men place the boxes in trollies and dash toward the business centers, the final destinations for the tiffin boxes.

As they do, pedestrians make way for the shouting, pushing dabbawalas, knowing well that they don’t stop for anyone. Each man then takes the responsibility of delivering the lunches to separate buildings, moving up and down the elevators. By 1pm, all are delivered, but the dabbawala’s job is not over yet. After a brief lunch, the dabbawala takes the empty tiffin boxes from the offices and repeats the process until all of the dabbas are returned to their respected homes before 6pm.

The century-old Indian meal delivery system that is powered by teamwork and steel remains incredibly efficient, even in an age where just about everything else is operated using the latest technology. Time will only tell how the process may evolve in the future (registration has recently gone virtual), but it is certain it will continue to serve as a model of service excellence for the entire world.

Be sure you never miss any of the exciting steel stories from The Steel Wire by subscribing to our blog.

In our modern fast-paced society, we probably don’t stop to think about how all of the things that are part of our daily lives reach us. Due to the ideas of one man, the world is shrinking as it globalizes. Modern container shipping will celebrate its 60^th anniversary next year. Container ships now carry about 60 percent of the total value the world’s goods shipped by sea.

The History of Containerization 

Though transporting containers has been practiced since 1792, it wasn’t until 1955 that modern containerization was introduced by American entrepreneur, Malcom McLean. (Image: Malcom McLean, http://bit.ly/1TLcMgF)

He came up with the idea that if he was able to drive his truck straight onto the transportation ships with its cargo and drive it off at the destination point. He later realized the process could be much simpler if the containers could be lifted off the trucks and placed on the ships. The process he created is called “inter-modalism” transportation; cargo can be transported in the same container, without being unloaded or reloaded, through the duration of its route, and on different modes of transportation. Thanks to the efficiency of modern containerization, the world is shrinking and human choice is growing. (Video: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-containerization-shaped-the-modern-world)

Since McLean started his shipping business, the technology of shipping containers continues to advance. The third generation of shipping containers for RO-RO ships using non-cassette carrier (NCC) technology lifts steel plates and coils. This technology is improving the efficiency of the shipping process.

The Efficiency of RO-RO Carriers

On July 2, the Gwangyang Frontier, the world’s first NCC concept RO-RO carrier, left the Port of Gwangyang. The Gwangyang Frontier is dedicated to the shipment of steel plates, and delivers only POSCO Steel products. It will drastically reduce logistics costs for POSCO by improving transport efficiency to a much higher level than conventional RO-RO ships currently operate.

The first generation of steel carriers loaded and unloaded steel by using wharf cranes, which was a very time-consuming and complicated process. The second generation of dedicated steel carriers developed the RO-RO concept to load and unload steel coils by cassette and to be carried to the transporters. The second generation RO-RO carriers required large investments in heavy equipment at both loading and unloading ports.

Gwangyang Marine has acquired a third generation carrier which applies the world’s first concept NCC technology, using bundle transport, and specializing in lifting steel plates and coils. It is expected to save annual logistics costs of about 2.5 billion won by reducing the loading and unloading time by half, and is capable of lifting super-wide and super-long cargo. It is expected to have a big impact on conventional ways of transporting steel plates and coils in future for POSCO.

Košice, Slovakia: A Steel-Inspired Capital of Culture

As one of the oldest industrial hubs of Slovakia, steel production has played a vital role in the economy of the eastern city of Košice for quite some time. The main development of iron started in the 13^th century and the technology of steel production progressively improved until 1959 when a deed was signed for a modern metallurgy plant. Five decades later, the Košice mill has developed into a steel-producing plant that has managed to widely reach the markets and achieve a position among significant steel producers.

 Košice has since reforged itself into a city of the arts, and was designated “European Capital of Culture” in 2013, along with Marseille, France, for its efforts to transform dilapidated industrial structures into contemporary art galleries, performance theaters and independent culture centers. In addition to the city’s gorgeous Gothic architecture, it is also home to the renowned ice hockey team HC Košice that plays regularly at the Steel Aréna. (Image: http://bit.ly/1CjHtVM )

Visakhapatnam, India: Steelworks on the Sea

Often coined The Jewel of the East Coast, the port city of Visakhapatnam was identified as one of the fastest-growing in the world, economically and demographically, with steel playing an important role.

In the 1970s, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, announced the government’s decision to establish a steel plant at Visakhapatnam. It has since become the only Indian shore-based steel plant and is situated on 33,000 acres, making the city a gateway for the development of the steel industry.

In addition to its flourishing economy, Visakhapatnam’s beaches, hilltop parks, caves and wildlife sanctuaries have helped the city become a significant tourist destination of natural beauty. Its serene temples, such as Simhachalam Temple, allow visitors to experience the spiritual side of India. (Image: http://bit.ly/1JR9l3k )

Pittsburgh, USA: The Original Steel City

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania became one of the most well-known steel cities in the world during the American Civil War, when the city’s economy was amplified by the increased production of iron and weaponry. By 1911, Pittsburgh was producing half of the nation’s steel, and during World War II, the city saw local mills operate 24 hours a day to produce 95 million tons of the metal.

Today, Pittsburgh may not produce as much as it did in its heyday, but the “Steel City” still boasts more than 300 steel-related businesses and visitors can even go on steel tours. Additionally, the city’s most visited attractions, such as the Carnegie Museum, founded by Andrew Carnegie, the most influential figure in the expansion of America’s steel industry, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, a stunning house that uses steel as a main building material, are a testament to the importance the metal still plays in this historical and cultural city. Sports fans shouldn’t miss out on a Steelers football game. (Image: http://bit.ly/1LPF7jt )

Newcastle, Australia: Surf & Steel

When military rule ended in 1823, the penal settlement that was originally Newcastle advanced into a pioneer town. The dawn of the 20^th century saw the city evolve into a site for steelworks, due to its abundance of coal. In 1915, a local steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 8 decades in which Newcastle’s fortunes were brought on by the steelworks and heavy industries. A deadly earthquake struck in 1989 and ten years later, the steelworks closed after 84 years of operation, having employed about 50,000 throughout its existence.

Creative repurposing has transformed the old and outdated to new and trendy, and art projects and festivals have allowed inner-city neighborhoods to prosper. It is along the sandy shores of “Best in Travel”-ranked Newcastle that bohemian culture meets surf culture and top-rated restaurants overlook an industrial port. Today, even as Newcastle embraces its rough-and-tumble industrial past, it is continuously looking to the future as a regional capital of creativity and cool.

Whether you’re traveling to the Australian coast or the cultural capital of Slovakia, these vacation destinations forged from steel and sweat have plenty to offer travelers seeking new experiences and wanting to explore unfamiliar lands. Safe travels this summer! (Image: http://bit.ly/1H6mPVJ )

One of Vietnam’s poorest communities rings in the New Year with new classrooms, homes, and infrastructure for life.

In Tan Hoa Commune, they’re celebrating Tết—Vietnam’s New Year—in a brand new place.

“Even living to this age, I have never imagined that I would ever have such a beautiful house to live in,” says Mrs. Tran Kim Xuyen, 72. Mrs. Xuyen is the owner of a new 35-square-meter home with a kitchen, bedroom, and living room—a spacious change from her family’s former low-roofed abode.

As one of rural Vietnam’s poorest communities, Tan Hoa was selected by POSCO and Habitat for Humanity as the destination for a joint development mission. Located in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, the area is known for its developing petroleum, electricity, steel, and chemical industries. Now, resources for local residents are catching up.

On January 14^th, a total of 153 volunteers arrived in Tan Hoa Commune in Tan Thanh District. Along with 20 members of the POSCO Family in Vietnam and 3 of POSCO’s CSR team, the group also welcomed 80 Korean students as part of the POSCO Global Youth group, plus 20 Vietnamese students and 30 home construction specialists from Habitat for Humanity.

The group worked together for 5 days on construction of Tan Hoa’s new homes. All of the new houses were built under the supervision of Habitat for Humanity construction experts. Engineers were br

ought in to make sure the homes met Vietnamese construction requirements.

But for many, the physical labor involved in building a home was a new experience—especially given Vietnam’s humid climate. Heat and wind proved challenging for the volunteers, as did language barriers. Everyone was left bathed in sweat as they worked, carrying sand, gravel, and brick around the construction site and mixing cement for the bricklayers.

We interviewed one Korean student volunteer as he transported a block of bricks to the site of a new home. “It’s really hot here. But our team is working hard to make sure this house is completed before the new year, no matter how much we sweat or bleed,” he said. “The residents here are the poorest people I’ve ever seen, but they still are hospitable. They need these homes,” he added.

To the volunteers, the 72-year-old new homeowner Mrs. Xuyen expressed only gratitude. “Thank you very much for building this house for me. I will never forget the time you have spent and the help you have given my family,” she said.

Schoolhouse Rock

As the newly-laid bricks of Tan Hoa’s ten new homes settled, the volunteers moved to a different part of Tan Thanh District. This time, they set out to help out the students of Hac Dich Middle School.

The school is one of the most rundown in the area, as it has endured years of the unforgiving climate without any maintenance or upgrades. When they arrived, the volunteers split into six groups. Over two days, they carried out repairs on the school’s stairs, desks, and chairs, plus painting the windows and cleaning the school grounds.

After the hard work was complete, the volunteers gathered together with students from the school and the Youth Union of Tan Thanh District for a cultural exchange party. Celebrations came complete with traditional art, dance, and music from Korea and Vietnam.

“This is the first time I’ve met and had fun with students from another country,” said one Hac Dich Middle School student. With the enthusiasm of youth, the student added that, “I learned a lot about Korean culture and people. I will miss the volunteers. I hope to see them again someday.”

Labor of Love

For their final stop, the 100 students of the volunteer group headed south to Long Dien to visit some of the wisest residents of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

At the Long Dien District Elderly and Lonely Care Center, the hard labor of previous days wasn’t needed. Instead, volunteers delivered food and New Year’s gifts—cooking oil, milk, noodles, cookies, and other daily necessities—for the center’s Tết celebrations. With the help of the Vietnamese student volunteers, the Korean students also made conversation and spent a bit of quality time with the center’s elderly residents, most of whom are homeless.

“New Year’s Day is coming. But we are always worried about daily living conditions during Tết,” explained one of the residents. “Thanks to the presents delivered by the volunteers, we have enough food for this Tết.”

A New Start

8 days, 10 houses, 6 groups, countless desks and chairs, and one New Year’s Day later, the volunteer project is over. In a ceremony to hand over ownership of the Tan Hoa houses, some of the new homeowners are moved to tears, while others are smiling, eager to start their new lives.

For the volunteers as well, the trip has been rewarding. “It was an amazing experience with the local people. The homeowners said thank you to us, and we also want to say thank you to them,” said POSCO Global Youth student Chang Ho Bin. “We are grateful they welcomed us into their lives. We hope they have a warm and happy New Year.”

What I learned from there is how we can true communicate with each other. It was really impressive to see kids in ‘home partners’ shy at the beginning but became friendly. Difference of language was nothing. Also, I’m very glad having participated in building their shelter.

–          Minji Kim

As a student in Hochi Minh City of Technology, it was great opportunity to participate in this activity. I was a bit worried about language problem and work itself, but all the friends from Korea were very kind and careful. I really appreciate their effort and will remember

–          Phan Cam Tu