Habitat World Online


Kizzy Louis grew up in this Habitat house in Americus, Ga., where her parents still live.

Opportunity:
Building a Better Life for Children
Habitat for Humanity's no-interest mortgages can open the door to education and a brighter future.

	Did you know ... ...that, according to a study released by the Center for Housing Policy in 2001, households dependent on a teacher's salary alone could not afford to buy a median-priced house in three quarters of the United States' largest housing markets?

by Rebekah Daniel

Geographically, only a few miles separate Kizzy Louis' old house and the Habitat house in Americus, Ga., where she grew up. In terms of opportunity, however, the two locations couldn't be farther apart.

The old life in a red house on a hill near the railroad tracks was one of frozen fingers, but warm feelings: Kizzy grew up as an only child but surrounded by extended family. Her mother kept the house neat, but keeping it warm was a greater challenge.

"You had to make up your mind if you were going to put the blankets on the windows or on the beds," says Pam Louis, Kizzy's mother. "When we said, 'Get dressed for bed,' it meant get dressed for bed--two coats." Kizzy remembers bundling up in her coat and snuggling next to her parents to get warm before being carried to her own bed.

Both of her parents had good jobs; her mother worked at a childcare facility, and her father as a state employee. But because of their inexperience in managing money, the family was unable to purchase a house through conventional means.

Affordability is a key component in Habitat housing--and in providing new hope for families. Beyond that, Habitat houses also are decent, adequate and solid. For so many families, like the Lowell-Bakers from Vermont, these attributes work together to generate new potential and greater promise.

Gaining more space was the primary goal for Serena Baker's mother and stepfather when they applied for a Habitat house in 1993. Serena was 10 years old when they moved from a tiny apartment to a new Habitat house with enough room for the three of them and a soon-to-arrive baby. For Serena's stepfather, the no-interest mortgage meant he could afford to buy the first van for his moving company. For Serena, the house was a testament to hope.

"It definitely brought something more to my childhood that non-Habitat kids don't have, like a sense of community and a sense that people really do nice things--that miracles do happen," she says. "I grew up knowing that there are things out there to help people."

The Habitat experience also can initiate an interest in and knowledge about new skills. Such was the case for Sean Stout.

He lives in a Habitat house in York, Ohio, where watching the construction of his house, as well as neighboring Habitat houses, awakened his interest in carpentry. Always attracted to working with his hands, 18-year-old Sean has nearly completed a carpentry program at a nearby vocational school and landed a solid job with a local building company.

"It's helped me decide what I want to do with my life," he says. "It gave me a whole new point of view."


Two children of Habitat homeowners enjoy their stable neighborhood in Houston, Texas.

Moving into a Habitat house often is a milestone of achievement for thousands of adults around the world, and a point from which things begin to turn around. For their children, however, the effect can be even more profound. With a Habitat house, the insecurity of frequent moves fades, and the anxiety of watching parents struggle to make ends meet lightens. Dreams are born from the simple materials of wood, paint and quiet space to think. For "Habitat kids," the essence of their new home is opportunity.

Both in the United States and internationally, "opportunity" for many homeowners' children is spelled e-d-u-c-a-t-i-o-n. Donald Haurin, a professor at Ohio State University, researched social benefits of homeownership and found that children of parents who own their homes score 9 percent higher in math, 7 percent higher in reading and have a 3 percent reduction in behavior problems.

Through taking a technology class in high school, Kizzy Louis developed a knack for shooting and editing videos. Her teacher and school counselors helped sort through information on colleges with video programs. She picked the Art Institute of Atlanta, earning an associate's degree in video production in 2000. Without her parents' financial support--made possible because of affordable Habitat housing--going away to college would have been difficult, at best.

"I wanted her to have a good education, go to college, be well-rounded and know how to take care of herself," Pam says. "And she's good at what she does."

Another opportunity characterizes the stories of Kizzy, Serena, Sean and thousands of other "Habitat kids": the opportunity to give back.

Sean spent his summer break volunteering with the Habitat affiliate that helped build his house, while honing his building skills at the same time: "I put what I learned at school into what we had to do down there."

Serena, a graduating senior at Castleton State College in Vermont, has used school breaks to lead other students on trips to build Habitat houses throughout the state. "Being in college allowed me to bring this organization to the awareness of more people, and more people to the organization as volunteers," she says. "I think volunteerism is a concept that I learned from Habitat at a very early age. It was embedded in me."

And in an unanticipated way, Kizzy's story has come full-circle. After graduation, she returned to Americus to gain experience in her field and took a full-time volunteer position in Habitat for Humanity International's Video Services department. The videos and projects she works on make her a part of the process by which other people learn about opportunities to become Habitat homeowners.

"It's amazing to me that I'm able to do something, help people get a Habitat house, and tell the story," she says.

With an estimated 750,000 people living in Habitat houses around the world, and more than half of them children, the stories--and the opportunities--continue.