By Jonathan Reckford
In the spring, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and Habitat supporter Archbishop Desmond Tutu visited the Mfuleni community near Cape Town, South Africa, to thank volunteers from around the world who had gathered to build homes as part of the Desmond Tutu Community Build.
Tutu's remarks at the event, details of which can be read on page 26, eloquently characterize the life-changing, faith-inspired work that Habitat partners are doing in so many locations. I believe that God truly does smile because He sees us doing His work on earth ... for the sake of His children who urgently need a decent roof over their heads.
Undoubtedly, Cape Town has its share of poverty housing issues. But it's no different from other urban centers whose bustle lures families looking for a better way. Rebekah Daniel explores the ever-increasing urbanization trend in this edition's cover story.
Already, nearly a billion people live in city slums, creating makeshift settlements out of scrap metal and anything else they can find. Despite their ingenuity--many informal slum settlements have their own schools, economies and law enforcement systems--many families lack tenure to the land and face the constant threat of eviction.
Habitat programs around the world are increasingly looking for new ways to partner with slum dwellers themselves and with other organizations to integrate housing into a larger equation that accounts for such needs as education, employment and health care. The scope of poverty and substandard housing around the world presents enormous challenges. But Habitat is committed to helping by making families a key part of their own housing solution. We have a long way to go, but together we're making a difference.
Apart from the building activity itself, we also want to draw more attention to the plight of those living under urbanized hardships. In Los Angeles, the annual Jimmy Carter Work Project will do exactly that, highlighting the obstacles families face in urban areas, not only across the United States, but around the world as well. You can read more about those efforts as part of this issue's cover story.
At the end of the day, whether in a city of 15 million or a village of 150, Habitat is committed to improving lives by working hand in hand with those in need of decent shelter--and with people like you whose own hands and compassionate hearts make those efforts possible.
