U.S. Field Notes
With the addition of 10 new affiliates in February and March, Habitat for Humanity has 1,595 affiliates in the United States (including the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and also is represented in 75 other countries. In addition, there are 649 campus chapters in the United States and 14 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.

Seventh-grader Jeff Johnson coordinated a Habitat house build with Crystal Coast HFH (N.C.) to earn his Eagle Scout rank last winter. The house was built almost entirely by Boy Scouts, including active scouts and their immediate families, former Eagle Scouts and U.S. Marines from a nearby military base.

HFH of Horry County (S.C.) hosted two Collegiate Challenge teams, one last fall and one in the spring. The spring group expanded their building skills by helping build a house using an insulated concrete-form technique—a building method considered both energy efficient and hurricane resistant. The affiliate staff reports that the students had fun, while the community benefited by seeing youth spend their breaks in a meaningful, worthwhile way.

New affiliate -- Pleasants County HFH, St. Marys, W.Va.



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

Evansville (Ind.) HFH achieved its goal of completing 200 houses by the year 2000 with a dedication of the 200th house last November. At the dedication, 200 elementary school children stood beside the house to represent the 200 families who now have decent, affordable housing.

Students at Valley Christian Academy in Aurora, Ohio, may be too young for a construction site, but they’ve found other ways to help. Students at this K-6 school raised $4,142 for HFH of Portage County by completing chores such as raking leaves, shoveling snow and walking dogs. Board president Ed Limbach hopes the students’ example will motivate adults in the community to contribute as well.

New affiliate -- Decatur County HFH, Parson, Tenn.



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

HFH of Eastern Jackson County (Mo.) is partnering with the Home Builders Association in Greater Kansas City to offer a “Building a House to Build Careers” school-to-work program. High school students, in addition to building, will be involved in activities such as job shadowing, internships, summer job programs and activities with National Association of Home Builders student chapters. Other locations for this national pilot program are in Tallahassee, Fla., and Indianapolis, Ind.

New affiliates -- HFH of Polk County, Bolivar, Mo.; HFH of Arkansas City, Arkansas City, Kan.



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.

Cold weather didn’t limit the activities of Twin Cities HFH (Minn.) last winter. To complement construction skills, Habitat homeowners attended affiliate-provided classes to learn about protecting their new houses from the elements, money management and plumbing and electrical repairs. Later, in March, Habitat supporters in the area were invited to a ceili (an Irish social dance party), to raise funds for a partner affiliate in Northern Ireland. Statewide, Habitat affiliates began a five-year, 1,000-house campaign on Jan. 1, 2001, to double the annual house construction rate to 234 by 2005.

New affiliates -- HFH of Mitchell County, Osage, Iowa; HFH of Clinton County, St. Johns, Mich.; Mitchell Regional HFH, Mitchell, S.D.; HFH of Grant County, Lancaster, Wis.; Jackson County Area HFH, Black River Falls, Wis.



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.

To support a stronger sense of community, Boulder Valley HFH (Colo.) plans to participate in a CoHousing project with a local developer. CoHousing is a strategy designed to increase interaction within neighborhoods by encouraging residents to participate in group activities and share meals and green space outside. The neighborhood of condominium-style units will include four Habitat houses.

Like many affiliates, Silver Valley HFH (Idaho) is in need of family sponsors to serve as liaisons between the families and the affiliate. The sponsors provide support, encouragement information for candidate families through the process. For more information, contact the affiliate at (208) 786-6013.

New affiliate -- HFH of Harney County, Hines, Ore.



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.

Greater Lawrence HFH (Mass.) celebrated its 15th anniversary last fall with a long look at the future and the Northeast region’s need for affordable housing. Through a series of meetings, the board of directors established a vision statement that includes goals such as partnering with other local organizations, nurturing relationships with the cities they build in and completing 50 houses in the next five years.

HFH Buffalo (N.Y.) designated 50 percent of its tithe money to Habitat’s work in Poland, where it helped advance the building of 15 new houses and earned recognition in the Prime Minister’s Family Program. The other half of the tithe went to the Latin America/Caribbean area.

New campus chapter -- Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa.



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

HFH of Puerto Rico began construction in the spring in San Juan on its first 13 houses. The row houses are arranged in two groups, one of six and another of seven, and are being constructed using pre-cast concrete shells. Lucilla Marvel, president of the affiliate’s board, says the need in their area is estimated at 200,000 units, with much of the substandard housing in locations subject to flooding and landslides.

New campus chapters -- Auburn University-Montgomery, Montgomery, Ala.; Judson College, Marion, Ala.



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

HFH of San Bernardino Area (Calif.) participated in a Faith and Justice Summit in February sponsored by the Inland Cops and Clergy Network. Churches, faith-based organizations, city and county law enforcement officials and court system personnel met to discuss ways to form partnerships to deal with the forces that endanger communities, families and children.



— 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, kkennedy@hfhi.org)

Millard and Linda Fuller were scheduled to dedicate the 20,000th house built in Habitat for Humanity International’s Africa/Middle East region in June, in Jinja, Uganda. The first Habitat house was constructed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire), some 27 years ago. Currently, Habitat is working in 20 countries throughout the area. “But we expect that to change dramatically over the next few years,” says Bob Wagner, HFHI’s program director for Africa. “The first houses have just been constructed in the Ivory Coast, and personnel are in place in several other ‘new’ Habitat countries. Over the next year, we expect to begin building in Mozambique, Cameroon, Nigeria, Lesotho and Senegal.”


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)

With its “Save and Build” program, HFH Sri Lanka has implemented a new strategy for reaching poorer people with irregular incomes. Working in partnership with a local community organization, prospective homeowners are formed into groups of 12. Each member saves 10 rupees daily for six months, which yields enough money (US$280) to build one “Stage 1” house. Houses are built in three stages. A family moves into the Stage 1 house (a 160-square-foot room) and repays the cost within three years. Then, the second and third stages (two smaller rooms totaling 160 square feet) of the house can be built. Now, with some 38 houses completed—including HFH Sri Lanka’s 1,000th house—the villagers report a sense of self-respect and self-esteem.


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

In August, Grey Bruce HFH will host HFH Canada’s second All Women Build in Tara, Ontario. Some 100 local volunteers are expected to help blitz build the house during the week of Aug. 11. To date, the affiliate has built eight houses. HFH Canada’s first All Women Build took place last year in Waterloo.


EUROPE/COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES
(HFHI, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709, (229) 924-6935, ext. 2495)

This year, HFH Northern Ireland plans to send 11 Global Village teams to seven countries on five continents. Local interest in the program has grown considerably over the past few years, and has yielded both local cross-community participation as well as global connections. Last year, 140 Irish volunteers on 11 GV teams raised more than $80,000; traveled to 10 destinations around the world; built 23 houses; funded an additional 28 houses; and ranged in age from 17 to 63. “Having worked with families to build their new homes, [events such as] political instability in the Philippines and the recent earthquake in El Salvador are now not just fleeting items on the world news reports,” says Ivan Jackson, affiliate board member and GV volunteer.


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)

Last fall, HFH Antigua & Barbuda completed its first house in the village of Bolans on the island of Antigua. The three-bedroom house for Ethlyn Joseph’s family of six is typical of well-constructed homes on the small island of Antigua. Its wood-frame structure with galvanized steel roof was built on a raised concrete block foundation. In addition, the house is constructed to withstand the high winds and rainfall associated with the region’s frequent tropical storms and hurricanes.


— by Milana McLead



Habitat Affiliate Countries— Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Bangladesh · Belize · Bolivia · Botswana · Brazil · Burundi · 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 · 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 · Venezuela · Vietnam · Zambia · Zimbabwe


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