A future homeowner builds the walls of a Habitat house during a Women Build project in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

Raising Walls, Building Confidence

With more than 12 percent female heads of household in the United States, it's not too surprising that for some Habitat affiliates, women homeowners are common. And around the world, even though women's property rights are limited in many developing countries, Habitat builds houses with women as a matter of course.

It's a natural progression because of Habitat for Humanity's foundation on the belief that God's love is universal and extends to all...women included. That means both women as Habitat homeowners and women as Habitat volunteers. In fact, five years ago, the organization established a Women Build department, with the specific charge of fully engaging women in Habitat's work, including house construction. "Women Build is not about excluding men," says Fiona Eastwood, director of Women Build. "It's about including women."

Clearly, with some 50 percent of Habitat volunteers being female, the potential volunteer work force is significant. But until recently, less than 15 percent of Habitat's construction volunteers were women. Women Build is working to change that. By involving, mobilizing and teaching women on the work site, Habitat not only can build more houses, but can move ever closer to achieving its goal of simple, decent, affordable housing for all.

While women are keen volunteers, they are often intimidated by being on a work site or lack confidence that they have something to offer there. Nothing could be further from the truth, says Andreta Freeman, a Habitat homeowner in Dothan, Ala., whose house was built entirely by women. "Women never realize how well they can do construction," she says. "With Habitat, we have someone with the patience to teach us what to do. They give us a chance and the time to learn. Then we can do it."

She should know. She helped build her own Habitat house, learned skills that earned her a job with a construction company, and then was hired as manager of Wiregrass (Ala.) HFH's "Renovation Station"--a recycling center for building materials.

To date, Women Build has built more than 450 houses in the United States, with some 20,000 women volunteering in 2001 alone. Affiliates estimate that about 70 percent of those women were first-time Habitat volunteers.

But efforts to involve women don't stop there. The department is in the midst of planning a global expansion strategy, and already has mounted Women Builds in 15 countries outside the United States.

"With Women Build, we create a work site where it's welcoming, where most of the occupants are women and they think, 'Wow, we can do this,'" says Eastwood. "Women have wanted to participate in helping families move out of poverty housing, but they've not known how to do it. Now, while they are discovering something new about themselves as they work on these sites, they are also powerfully and positively changing the lives of the families whose houses they build."

Freeman couldn't agree more. "Working on my own house made me feel important," she says. "I was very motivated by others who worked with me. ...I know our home is a safe and wonderful place to live."

--Milana McLead