Aged 81 and having survived cancer and a quadruple heart bypass, The Hon. Deirdre Chapin could be forgiven for putting her feet up and taking a well-deserved rest.

Instead, the Warwick resident is preparing for two weeks of manual labour this summer, building homes for those less fortunate than herself in eastern Europe. And it?s not the first time the widow, of Longford Road, has taken on the arduous task of building houses for others. Last August, she did just that in Botswana with a team of fellow volunteers from the Island.

?I think the thing is, I have been given a second chance to live because I was extremely ill a couple of years ago and almost died,? she told . ?I?m a cancer survivor and I have had a quadruple bypass. It was the King Edward Hospital that saved my life.

?I think it?s because my philosophy of life is live each day to the fullest and if I can help somebody along the way I do. That?s what I think inspired me to help people who have less than I do.?

In Africa, Mrs. Chapin, who has lived on the Island since 1978, spent two weeks in Mahalapye working for Habitat Missions Overseas. The team from Bermuda built three houses from scratch.

?It was hard,? she said. ?Everything had to be done by hand. The cement had to be mixed by hand. I found it extremely hard, the work, but I was delighted to do it. The only thing I wouldn?t do is get on the roof. Other than that, I managed to do everything.?

She added: ?It was a great trip ? everybody helped everybody else. I think what really got to me was that when I was cutting the ribbon on one of the houses I looked up and there was this woman with her three children and there were tears pouring down her face.

?She was the new owner. You really thought, here I have built a beautiful house for them.?

Mrs. Chapin, a former librarian whose father was a member of the British aristocracy, is now preparing for this summer?s trip, likely to be to Romania.

She said: ?So far I plan to take part. I?ll go if my health is fine. I?m leading a normal life. I?m very lucky because I play tennis which keeps me fit.?

David Thompson, who leads the Habitat missions from Bermuda, said: ?Deirdre said to me right from the go ?don?t make any allowances?. I said ?I won?t put you up a ladder but you can do everything else?. She was mixing cement, sifting sand. Everybody came back in one piece and they would all do it again.?

The youngest volunteer who went to Botswana was Mr. Thompson?s son Alex, 13, a student at Somersfield Academy.

He also plans to go to eastern Europe this summer. He said: ?I liked the experience of helping people who couldn?t afford a home. Bermudians have it a lot better.?

Adrienne Smatt, 17, from Pembroke, was another youngster who took part in the Botswana trip. The Bermuda High School student said it was a life-changing experience.

?You meet these people and just as they say in the movies, you come back and you have left a part of you behind. It?s an extremely humbling experience. I plan to do it again this year.?