Habitat World Online


The four members of the Zuniga family lived in this 7' by 12' trailer in Texas before moving into their Habitat house.

A World in Need of Housing, Hope and Help

by Shawn Reeves

Tithe Builds Houses Worldwide

Youth Energize Habitat's Work

A Marriage of Money and Mission

In New Mexico, a mother frets over paint that's chipping from her windowsills--because she keeps finding the lead-based chips in her toddler's little hands.

With labored breath, a little boy in West Virginia battles asthma that has resulted in part from the poor conditions in which he is living: the mold and mildew, the cockroaches and dust mites, the rodent allergens.

Beyond a crowded market in Manila, children compete with dogs for refuse while families make their homes and livelihoods in the shadows of garbage heaps.

Around the world, houses lean like makeshift scaffolding across rural plains and in dense, noisy, polluted urban quarters.

Habitat for Humanity's mission is to eliminate these conditions--from the busiest city to the most remote village. Its partnership housing approach is proven, its commitment resolute. However, it cannot do it alone and relies on contributions from millions of people throughout the world. Each Habitat partner can and does make a difference. And whether those contributions arrive in the form of volunteer labor or financial donations, each helps build a house with a family who needs it.

Millions of families all over the world count on Habitat's work--and on its partners' involvement. They struggle daily to overcome the hardships of substandard housing. They seek warmth in the cold, relief from the stifling heat and a better life in every climate. Meanwhile, their health declines, their anguish deepens and their hope fades to a glimmer--yet not all is completely lost.

Through partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, families, once stooped under the heavy burden of poverty housing, have unleashed new potential after moving into a decent, affordable home. The roof is solid, the floors sound. Inside, bugs and bad weather no longer slip through cracks in the walls, and new stability resides there instead.

For almost three decades, Habitat has been helping families overcome such desperate conditions. As the need for housing remains dire, Habitat will only redouble its efforts to narrow the gap between those who have a decent place to live and those who don't.

"With so many families living in substandard housing, we have to act swiftly and thoroughly," says Millard Fuller, Habitat's founder and president. "We've come a long way, but the road ahead is long still. Yet as more people become involved and share in our concern for those enduring such horrible situations, as they volunteer and donate money and help advocate for low-income families, we can reach the end of the road and help chart a new direction for those fraught with poverty and the worry that comes with it."

Habitat for Humanity is committed to eliminating burdens many families shoulder by building solid, affordable houses in partnership with those families. To date, the organization has provided shelter to more than 175,000 families, housing nearly 900,000 people.

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