DANBURY—Putting action to his faith is how Kyle Scott describes his work for Habitat for Humanity.

"I think it stems from my faith," Scott said of the giving nature of Habitat. "I really believe as a Christian it is my duty and responsibility to give back."

"To be able to be that light in the community and to help out in whatever way I can," he continued. "It's what led me 20 years ago to work with a community health project in northern Bangladesh and it's what keeps driving me back and getting me involved."

"Now with Habitat, it's exciting to see lives transformed from such extreme poverty when they see that new house, walk in that front door — it's something they never dreamed of having before. It brings tears to your eyes," he said.

He has worked for Habitat for a little more than three years.

"I took some time off to earn a Master's degree and was actually working in Albania when I applied to work with Habitat," he said.

A friend told him about an opening with Habitat in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, he applied and within a few months the family moved.

"We decided to take that step and get back to the country I had grown up in and one in which my family had spent most of their lives in," Scott said. "It was a homecoming in some ways."

He worked in Bangladesh for about three years, initially as the director of that country's program for nine or 10 months before he was asked to take on the role of regional director.

"Every few months another country would be given to me to oversee," he explained.

Scott and his family have now been relocated to Bangkok, Thailand where he oversees six countries in southeast Asia, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

He said India is almost a continent unto itself, Habitat-wise.

"They have a very substantial program," he said.

He said Pakistan and Afghanistan are probably the most notorious for being war-torn countries, especially with the political unrest, terrorism and threats against Americans.

"It's interesting traveling in. You're always glad to be alive on the way out," he added.

While the principles behind Habitat may be the same abroad as they are here in the United States, the economy dictates the reality of the home building.

"We're on a different scale in southeast Asia," he explained. "Houses typically cost much, much less."

He said the standard house, a two bedroom home, is built with a loan of between $300 and $750, with a repayment schedule of two to six years.

The average American may think that's hardly any money at all, but when you consider the average yearly salary in Bangladesh is $300, it is a substantial undertaking.

"These are good homes for people who would never be able to get anything otherwise," he continued.

And it's not just one home being built in a community during one building season.

"In our entire region, we built over 22,000 houses last year," he said. Depending on which country the home is being built in, the construction of the house varies between four and six weeks.

"The house would have a concrete foundation, brick walls and typically have a corrugated tin sheeting roof," he described.

While they still try to keep the family involved, the sweat-equity part of the equation, he said it's harder to get others in the community involved. However, that is starting to change.

"In our urban environments, Habitat is getting volunteers from the international schools, those who have that sense of giving back — seeing what it feels like to get their hands dirty and be there to support someone who needs it," he commented.

Although the economy in southeast Asia may dictate the scale of the building and the number of homes built, the sense of pride, ownership and belonging one gets from a new home is universal.

"It empowers them, it gives them a voice in their community and they have the respect they may not have had before," Scott stated. "It does transform lives."

"In terms of what we have seen, communities seem to really accept the Habitat program," he continued. "Village leaders have asked us to start programs in their communities because they see how it is helping."

In three plus years, one incident in particular paints a picture for what Habitat has meant to Scott.

He recalled traveling up a steep mountain road in Pakistan to get to a community which had lost two dozen people in an earthquake. Most of the people died from their homes falling in on them.

"The Habitat strategy is to take that lumber, cut it into much smaller pieces and build a shelter which is both earthquake-resistant and is much lighter, so if it does come down, it's not going to kill the inhabitants inside," he explained.

"I visited the project, I was standing on a pile of lumber that had just been cut and I asked the men of the village 'So what has this project done for you?'"

"The lumber you just cut for me, to take these heavy pieces down the mountain to the sawmill, have it cut and carry it back up would have cost me $12,000 rupees," was his answer from one man.

The man continued by saying the money Habitat had saved him would enable him to put that money toward the health and education of his children. Other men in the village added their thanks, saying the portable sawmill probably saved hundreds of thousands of rupees.

"To me, that shows the impact of what Habitat is doing — it was exciting to see and made the trip very worthwhile," he said.

"It has been an exciting, life-changing experience," he concluded.