Teacher travels with a passport and a hammer

TRURO - Cobequid Educational Centre teacher Suzanne Fougere has been putting her passport to good use for the past three years.
Fougere, 39, has been circling the globe with Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization devoted to building simple and affordable housing.
In 2006, the Truro native travelled to Madagascar, an island off eastern Africa. The next year El Salvador was her destination and last summer she touched down in far-off Mongolia. Now, the countdown is on for a summer visit to Macedonia, a poor eastern European country that used to be part of Yugoslavia.
Fougere said many of her students don't know where Macedonia is.
"They think, 'Where is that?' I have to point it out on a map," she said with a laugh. "They say, 'Why do you go to all these weird places?'
"I see first-hand the need for assistance for low-income families and impoverished families here in Truro. But going to another country also brings a cultural element to it."
A lot of these places are desperately poor, added the English 11 and Law 12 teacher.
"They don't have the social services and charities and assistance that we are fortunate to have in Nova Scotia."
Fougere said she enjoys working with Habitat for Humanity because it adds to the travelling experience.
"I love travelling but I like doing something with my travelling and giving back to another country, another community."
Every trip is different from the last, said Fougere, who also volunteers in Truro at St. Vincent de Paul Society.
"What doesn't change is the appreciation and smiles and gratitude that you get from people who really need help and deserve help and are so appreciative."
The Habitat for Humanity plans in Macedonia include construction of about 90 homes for low-income families in the next three years, particularly for married couples who are economically active and have children but low incomes.
Anyone interested in helping the organization closer to home doesn't have to travel any farther than metro.
"Sackville, Spryfield and Dartmouth," said Fougere. "So, if someone wants to go, there's an affiliate down there. Pick up a hammer and help out."
A portion of the profits made today at the King Lam Restaurant in Bible Hill will go directly to the project Fougere is co-leading in Macedonia.