The Dunedin couple are flying to Vietnam next month to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organisation that provides affordable housing to people in need.
The Chaves will be working with about 30 other volunteers on the Jimmy Carter Habitat for Humanity project.
"You pay your own fares and make a financial contribution to the project," Mr Chave said.
"It's a great opportunity to meet some great people. There will be a lot of other people there."
The team will build about 40 houses in a week, just outside of Hanoi.
"This sort of thing is done frequently by Habitat for Humanity and they are pretty practised at this.
"They are quite different to the New Zealand idea of houses," Mr Chave said, adding they would be built with concrete floors, wooden beams and fixed roofs, which was not how houses in Vietnam were usually built.
Mr Chave is a civil engineer and spent time in Vietnam in 1993 on an aid engineering project, assessing bridges and roads in the old communist north. He has been keen to return ever since.
"We are pretty well off where we are and had the desire to do something for those less fortunate than ourselves.
"The Vietnamese are a lovely people who have every reason to hold a grudge, but don't. We are just going to be labourers, but if they want some professional advice, I'll be happy to assist."
- Rachel Taylor
