EUROPE/CENTRAL ASIA

The Khachatryan family looks forward to the warmth of their Habitat house in Armenia.

Families Overcome Harsh Conditions to Build a Better Way

Daniel Brás, Portugal

Five years ago, Daniel Brás moved into a Habitat house in Rechã, Portugal, along with his parents and four siblings. Eight years old at the time, he knew enough to recognize the stark difference between their old house and the new.

"We lived in a rented old stone little house," he says. "We just had three rooms in the house: bedrooms and kitchen. Even though there was electricity in the house, there was no running water or a bathroom. Some parts of the house already had fallen down."

Now, Daniel shares a room only with his brothers Diogo, who is 17 and "likes to date," and Joel, who is 11 and "likes to play soccer with my friends and me." His mother, Celeste, has a job cleaning, and his father, José, works in construction, while his sister Alexandra, 15, takes care of the house and watches over Rafaela, 4, "the baby of the family."

--Cecilia Espada


Gor Khachatryan, Armenia

When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Armenian government privatized some formerly state-owned land and distributed it to villagers in order to support local communities. Many village people began constructing houses, but inflation and an eventual currency collapse kept them from finishing.

	'Our children will do their homework assignments under the daylight in their own rooms, and we won't have to move our beds to avoid dripping from a leaky ceiling.'

One of these families was Gor Khachatryan's. Gor's family sought "temporary" shelter in an old stable. With no water or heat inside, it was freezing cold in the winter and unbearably hot in the summer. For six years, they spent their winters huddled by the wood-burning heater trying to heat their little "home" enough to keep their children healthy.

Gor found out about Habitat from a newspaper and decided to apply. Now they have nearly finished the house they began to build years ago and are looking forward to the day when they will move in. Gor is a police officer on duty during the week; he works on his home on the weekends. His neighbors work with him side by side to help to build the home for his family.

Larissa, Gor's wife, says the opportunity to own a decent house will have a powerful impact on their children in a simple, practical way.

"Our children will do their homework assignments under the daylight in their own rooms, and we won't have to move our beds to avoid dripping from a leaky ceiling," she says.

--Haykuhi Khachatryan