U.S. Field Notes
With the addition of eight new affiliates in April and May, Habitat for Humanity has 1,601 affiliates in the United States (including the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and also is represented in 78 other countries. In addition, there are 661 campus chapters in the United States and 19 other countries around the world.


CENTRAL ATLANTIC
(District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia): Rick Beech, 2201 Candun Dr., Suite 200, Apex, NC 27502, (800) 241-0285, RBeech@hfhi.org.

Mountaineer HFH (W. Va.) began building in April in Jubilee Heights, a housing development where the affiliate hopes to build 46 Habitat houses, a community center and a nature trail. The faith community is actively involved in the project: The 29 acres for the neighborhood was donated by the local Catholic diocese as part of its Year of Jubilee celebration in 2000. Churches will have the opportunity to sponsor houses and individual building days during Habitat’s annual Building on Faith week, Sept. 10–16.

The National Association of Student Councils, an organization made up of 2,500 students from the United States and other countries, built a Habitat house with HFH Matthews (N.C.) as a community outreach project for its annual conference. For 13 Saturdays, a different area high school sent a work team to build, and a student council president from each state was scheduled to help finish and dedicate the house with Habitat founder Millard Fuller at the end of June.

New affiliate -- HFH of Stokes County, King, N.C.



MID-AMERICA
(Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana): Meredith Kostyk, 911 S. Brook St., Louisville, KY 40203, (502) 568-2656, MKostyk@hfhi.org.

Roane County HFH (Tenn.) plans to celebrate Habitat’s 25 years of building houses by urging 25 area churches to encourage at least 25 of their members to skip one meal on Sept. 1 and donate the cost of that meal to the affiliate. By estimating the cost of each meal at $5, the affiliate hopes to raise more than $3,000 and increase awareness of the need for affordable housing in the county.



MIDDLE STATES
(Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas): Joe Gatlin, PO Box 3157, Waco, TX 76707, (800) 682-1980, JGatlin@hfhi.org.

High winds kept Seaman High School volunteers from achieving their goal of building a Habitat house in 24 hours—but just barely. After 17 1/2 hours of building, the students and high school staff had dried in the house. Teacher John Bloomfield recruited volunteers from his classes, raised funds and organized the blitz with Topeka HFH (Kan.) to make this the sixth house sponsored by the high school.

A television station in Omaha, Neb., has partnered with Omaha HFH and other local affiliates to cover a special build celebrating Habitat’s 25th anniversary. In addition to following the construction for the 25 days of the build, the station scheduled a telethon on the first day during framing.

New affiliates -- HFH of Lonoke County, Cabot, Ark.; HFH Barton County Area, Great Bend, Kan.; HFH of Saline County, Crete, Neb.
New campus chapter -- Westminister College, Fulton, Mo.



MIDWEST
(Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin): Bill Ward, 1920 S. Laflin St., Chicago, IL 60608, (800) 643-7845, BWard@hfhi.org.

Missouri Valley HFH started North Dakota’s first Women Build house in May. With volunteers coming from Illinois and Canada, as well as locally, the build has provided opportunities for women not only to learn construction skills but also to network with other like-minded volunteers. The affiliate plans to complete four houses next year.

HFH of Kent County (Mich.) partnered with the American Lung Association of Michigan and the Kendall College of Art and Design to build a Habitat house that accommodates the asthma condition of one of the homeowner’s children. The house is barrier-free and follows air-quality standards set by the American Medical Association, including a high-efficiency air filter, moisture barrier under the basement and low-toxin paints, sealers and finishes.

New affiliates -- HFH of Shelby County, Shelbyville, Ill.; HFH of Langlade County, Antigo, Wis.
New campus chapter -- Alma College, Alma, Mich.



MOUNTAIN STATES
(Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming): Bruce Petersen, 1005 N.W. Galveston, Bend, OR 97701, (800) 365-4637, BPetersen@hfhi.org.

In January, some HFH Greater Wenatchee Area (Wash.) supporters decided to forgo their daily caffeine and instead use the money to help build Habitat houses. By May, members of the Coffee Club had collected $8,000 by donating the cost of one cup of coffee a day. The club hopes to sponsor a Coffee Club house this year.

Women Building a Legacy, an 18-month project during which women will build at least 100 Habitat houses across the United States, kicked off in May with a blitz build in Denver. Hundreds of women—including several first ladies—volunteered with Metro Denver HFH to build five houses in eight days with the homeowners and their families.

New affiliates -- Chaffee County HFH, Buena Vista, Colo.; Cedar Breaks HFH, Cedar City, Utah.



NORTHEAST
(Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont): Lisa Reitz, 200 S. Church St., West Chester, PA 19382, (800) 434-5463, LReitz@hfhi.org.

The Eastern College (Pa.) campus chapter just finished its second Global Village trip in three years. Eleven students went to Guyana two years ago; in May, 12 students traveled to New Zealand.

Nine area churches have come together to sponsor a house in Macedon, New York, with HFH of Wayne County. The affiliate, which has built 14 houses so far, plans to have a family selected by August to begin building in September.

New campus chapters -- St. Agnes High School, College Point, N.Y.; The Haverford School, Haverfold, Pa.; St. Peter Marian Catholic High School, Worcester, Mass.; Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Flemington, N.J.; Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, N.J.



SOUTHEAST
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico): Dick Weber, 226 N. Laura St., Jacksonville, FL 32202-3502, (800) 637-9532, RWeber@hfhi.org.

Moved by damage reports from Honduras following Hurricane Mitch, the board of directors of Southern Crescent HFH (Ga.) decided in February 2001 to designate the affiliate’s tithe to that country. “Tithing has changed the affiliate in terms of being focused globally,” executive director Ivonne Reid-Borland says. “We believe if we can stretch beyond the counties we serve, it gives us the perspective of reaching out.”

New campus chapter -- Milton High School, Alpharetta, Ga.



WEST
(Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada): Dick Kuegerman, 1440 Broadway, Suite 205, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 286-8960.

Verde Valley HFH (Ariz.) built its fourth house with wide hallways, wood floors, low-pile carpet, ramps and easy-to-access kitchen and bathroom fixtures to accommodate a wheelchair.



— by Rebekah Graydon


Habitat Around the World


AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST
(Harry Goodall, PO Box 11179, Hatfield, Pretoria 0083, South Africa, Tel. 011-27-12-430-9200, elizabeths@habitatame.org.za)

The continent of Africa has the dismal distinction of being home to 22 of the world’s poorest nations, according to the United Nations. West African Liberia is among those countries, and in addition to facing ongoing unrest, the nation also struggles with its grinding poverty. Even so, a tenacious, grassroots effort to work with Habitat for Humanity there continues. As of last April, seven communities had completed their first Habitat houses and HFHI’s board of directors recently added HFH Liberia to its list of “official” Habitat countries.


ASIA/PACIFIC
(Steve Weir, Ocean Tower 1, 22nd floor, 170/68, Soi Sukhumvit 16, Rachadapisek, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand, Tel. 011-66-2-261-3270, office@hfhap.org)

The Singapore American School campus chapter in Singapore became “official” in 2000 after two years of steady involvement with Habitat. Since then, the students and advisers decided to place an emphasis on involvement with Habitat’s work in Thailand. “We focus our efforts in Thailand because of its close proximity—we can fairly easily send volunteers there and because of the tremendous need there,” says Brad Moffatt, chief sponsor of the student chapter. In just 18 months, 235 students and adults gave a week or more of their time to building with families and Habitat. In addition, the school donated more than $15,000US to HFH Thailand or to local Thai affiliates. In June, two more teams headed to the school’s “adopted” affiliates in Chiang Mai and Udon Thani, Thailand, where they volunteered along with employees of United Airlines–Singapore.


CANADA
(David Beckerson, 40 Albert St., Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3S2, (519) 885-4565, habitat@habitat.ca)

Waterloo area teachers’ federations and HFH Waterloo Region partnered in recent months to complete a house built almost entirely by teacher volunteers. A groundbreaking ceremony during National Education Week last May provided an appropriate kickoff to the event. “Teachers know first hand the effects of inadequate housing on children; we see it in the classrooms every day,” says Pat Cannon, president of the Waterloo unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association. After months of fund raising, recruiting, organizing and pre-building, the teachers plan to complete the house in August.


EUROPE/COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
(Don Haszczyn, Fioktelepe, 1054 Budapest, Bathony utca 17 11/8, Hungary. Tel. 011-36-1-374-0525)

Three years in the making, a new Habitat community is now complete in Glencairn—a predominantly Protestant neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In May and June, HFH Belfast construction volunteers and crew added the finishing touches to the final four houses, including skirting boards inside the houses, and fencing and curbs outside the houses. Newlyweds Nichola Latimer and Jim Fox, along with their 1-year-old son, Ross, are among the new homeowners. The young family previously lived in crowded conditions with Latimer’s parents and her sister’s family. “It was the best wedding present we could have asked for,” says Fox.


LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN
(Torre Nelson, SJO-2268, Unit 101-C, PO Box 025216, Miami, FL 33102-5216, Tel. 011-506-296-8120, LAC@hfhlac.org)

At least two Habitat for Humanity national organizations in this region mounted special events during Semana Santa, or Holy Week. In South America, HFH Brazil built 15 houses from start to finish that week in Tres Rios, near Rio de Janeiro. When Easter morning came, HFHI co-founders Millard and Linda Fuller lent a hand to dedication ceremonies—including the dedication of the 35,000th Habitat house built in the Latin America/Caribbean region. Some 4,000 miles to the northeast in Central America, HFH El Salvador joined efforts with more than 600 volunteers from seven countries for its “Rise Up and Build” event. Volunteers and homeowners built 50 houses at four sites that week.


— by Milana McLead



Habitat Affiliate Countries— Antigua and Barbuda • Argentina • Armenia • Australia • Bangladesh • Belize • Bermuda • Bolivia • Botswana • Brazil • Burundi • Cameroon • Canada • Central African Republic • Chile • China • Colombia • Costa Rica • Democratic Republic of Congo • Dominican Republic • Ecuador • Egypt • El Salvador • Ethiopia • Fiji • Germany • Ghana • Great Britain • Guatemala • Guyana • Haiti • Honduras • Hungary • India • Indonesia • Ivory Coast • Jamaica • Japan • Kenya • Kyrgyzstan • Lesotho • Liberia • Madagascar • Malawi • Malaysia • Mexico • Mongolia • Mozambique • Nepal • Netherlands • New Zealand • Nicaragua • Nigeria • Northern Ireland • Pakistan • Papua New Guinea • Paraguay • Peru • Philippines • Poland • Portugal • Republic of Korea • Romania • Samoa • Singapore • Slovenia • Solomon Islands • South Africa • Sri Lanka • Tanzania • Thailand • Trinidad and Tobago • Uganda • United States, Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico • Vanuatu • Venezuela • Vietnam • Zambia • Zimbabwe


Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, August/September 2001.
This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
©2001 Habitat for Humanity International