When I first looked at the bare stretch of walls behind our school canteen, I saw a blank canvas that could carry more than paint. Walls of Hope began as a response to the visible and invisible barriers that so many people in Thailand, and around the world, face when it comes to adequate housing.

Over the course of seven hours, 20 Habitat for Humanity club members and high school students came together with brushes in our hands, dedicated to painting and building awareness on the local and global housing crisis, and how important collaboration is when it comes to constructing both homes and change. Every person involved helped tell a story of working together, of lending a hand to improve housing in local and rural Thai communities for underserved families. By addressing the global housing crisis in a local context, it was also my aim that Walls of Hope could inspire students to consider their roles as global citizens, and the impact they can have on addressing such challenges in their own community.

In my studies of economics, I have come to see that housing sits at the intersection of equity and opportunity. The absence of affordable housing locks individuals out of a home and the ability to build a stable future. Before this project, I understood these ideas in theory. But through my experiences on Habitat builds and engaging with community foundations, I’ve witnessed the harsh realities of families struggling to find comfort and security within unstable homes. I hoped that our mural could provide a medium to communicate these connections to students, teachers, and passersby alike. I believe it can, but awareness alone is insufficient. But I still wonder: what can I do to further and tangibly support those who are disproportionately affected by inadequate housing? How can we move closer to ensuring that stable housing becomes real for more and more people over time? These are questions I’m still exploring, but I know that progress begins by continuing to ask and act upon them.

The next time you pass this stretch of walls, I hope you’ll pause to recognize what the artwork represents. While change may not be immediate, the path toward safe, accessible housing for all is one we must continue to build.