'Focused and Faithful' Drive to Build Continues

by Jonathan Reckford

It's amazing what can happen when people act on their compassion. We need look no further than the U.S. Gulf Coast to find the results.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita left thousands homeless, stunned, seeking direction in a maze of emergency relief and official procedures. Among them were Melissa Carrington and her family of five, who lost their home to Katrina just as they had their previous home to hurricanes Isidore and Lili three years prior.

Following Katrina's strike, Habitat for Humanity began assessing the damage and forming a plan to provide long-term recovery so that families like Melissa's could leave behind temporary cots for the permanence of solid, affordable houses.

To date, we have received about $125 million from partners around the world. In fact, as of this writing, Habitat was the largest home builder in the Gulf Coast region, building houses, but also, through its efforts, inspiring other families to rebuild as well. Thousands of Habitat volunteers have traveled to the area to lend their hands and hearts to the effort, not only building new houses, but also cleaning up hundreds of homes so families can begin their own rebuilding process.

Habitat's commitment is unbending, our drive focused and faithful. We have built more than 300 houses so far in the region and plan to have 1,000 built by this time next year. We will continue building as long as we have the resources to do so, and we'll seek new ways to make a difference. Melissa's new Habitat house in Gray, La., about 60 miles southwest of New Orleans, is both a tangible mark and a compelling symbol of what we aim to do.

We want to build as many houses as we can, but we also want to be a catalyst for decent housing in the region. With the need for housing along the Gulf Coast--and across the globe--so immense, we know that we cannot build a sufficient number of houses by ourselves. But we also know that Habitat's work serves a tremendous need.

The need along the coast and throughout the world is daunting, but we're not swayed. And as we work with more and more devoted partners everywhere, we'll expand the scope by which we can impact the lives of families in need.

As Habitat this month celebrates 30 years of growth and achievement, we reflect on the need for housing and hope, for creative housing solutions that will increase the scale at which we fulfill our mission--and serve more families like Melissa's.