AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST

Joyce Mkize, left, talks with friends as they make blocks to build Habitat houses in South Africa.

Building Security for the Future, Building Hope for Today

Joyce Mkize, South Africa

'A better life and a decent old-age lifestyle,' are the words Joyce Mkize uses to describe what owning a Habitat house means to her. With a mortgage paid off in February 2004, Joyce represents a group of early Habitat pioneers who embraced the mission and vision of Habitat South Africa.

Reflecting back to March 1997 when Joyce, together with her four children and two grandchildren, moved into their very own Habitat house in KwaZulu-Natal, Joyce remembers mostly the house dedication ceremony and the friendly volunteers.The volunteers had come from abroad to help Joyce build her home, and it was a time of learning how to lay blocks and forming new friendships with the visitors.

	'The children had their own bedrooms and no longer had to sleep packed like sardines in small tins.'

Joyce is very proud of her house. "My old home was built using old sheets of timber that leaked when it rained," she says. "The children always had colds and flu because of the damp and the holes in the roof. In our Habitat house we no longer had rain coming through the roof and walls.We were not frightened of runaway shack fires and fires started by candles, and our living conditions improved immediately after we moved in.The children had their own bedrooms and no longer had to sleep packed liked sardines in small tins.We all could have nice hot baths and the house was very comfortable.The children were able to study in a good environment."

For Joyce's neighbors still living in poverty housing, watching Joyce's transition was bittersweet, she says. "Some of them were very glad for us but some were jealous. Many families need decent housing like I now have, and we need more people to help us fund and build houses for those families still living in the conditions I used to live in."

--Sue Johnson


Hussein Byenkya, Uganda

Hussein Byenkya and his wife, Hanifa, built their Habitat house in the Hoima region of Uganda in 1994. Unlike many of their neighbors, their three children Kahunde Hadija, Halima Tusiime and Kamukama, have grown up in decent housing. In fact, their first child was born just months after moving into their Habitat house.

Hussein, a senior accounts assistant, and Hanifa, a teacher, have paid off their mortgage. As homeowners, they have been able to use their house as security to obtain a bank loan for building one-room rental units on their property.The units are sturdy and increase the supply of decent housing in their community, as well as providing additional income for the Byenkya family.

The Byenkyas treasure the sense of community connection and security that owning a home brings. "It means somebody has a residence, an address where they can be reached, and that person is not a nomad," Hussein says.

--Sebastian Wakhooli