Habitat for Humanity Slovakia

Contact information HFH Slovakia Zemplinska 15/A 040 01 Kosice Slovakia Phone: +421 5572888568 Fax: +421 5572888568 E-mail: etp@ke.etp.sk				Habitat's Work in Slovakia New families served this year*: 122 Total homes constructed/rehabilitated: 205 House sponsorship cost: US$2,340         Slovakia News and Stories Building homes—and bridges—among ethnic groups in Slovakia
Country profile

Housing Need
Nestled in the heart of Central Europe, Slovakia has achieved both political and economic stability since its independence following the peaceful separation from Czechoslovakia in 1993. In 2004, Slovakia joined the European Union, and in January 2009 it adopted the euro as its currency.

Slovakia is one of the fastest-growing economies in the region. Nonetheless, unemployment continues to plague the country of 5.4 million. In addition, there are sharp regional differences. The eastern region has a much higher incidence of poverty, as economic activity is heavily concentrated in the west, particularly around the capital of Bratislava.

One of the most striking factors of poverty in Slovakia is the condition of the minority Roma people, who, by unofficial estimates, number as much as 320,000. Most of their settlements have no access to sewerage. The squalid nature of Roma housing in Eastern Slovakia, especially of those living in so-called osadas (squatter ghettos outside villages), is a blot on the European landscape with all aspects of living conditions utterly unacceptable.


Habitat for Humanity in Slovakia
Habitat for Humanity partnered with ETP Slovakia, a Slovak NGO, to deliver a project tailor-made for the Roma, renovating homes and improving the general health of people in Roma settlements. To date, 120 homes have been renovated, disinfected and pest-controlled. In one village, Svinia, all water wells were cleaned, disinfected, repaired and sealed with concrete lids to prevent pollution.

The project in Spinier was an innovative attempt to reach out to the poorest of the poor. Given the extent of poverty in the community, the first aim of the project was to make living conditions healthier, cleaner and more decent. The impact of the program and the level of improvements have been remarkable. Living in clean, heated apartments without rodents and insects has drastically improved the health of the people. The provision of safe, clean drinking water has greatly reduced diarrhea in children and eradicated hepatitis.

Habitat for Humanity has been working in partnership with ETP Slovakia since 2005, first providing small housing loans in the community of Nalepkovo, Spies Region, Eastern Slovakia, then expanding to eight other towns and villages in the same region.

The next phase and of the three-year partnership program between ETP Slovakia and Habitat for Humanity is implementing a process aimed at addressing manifestations of housing poverty among low-income families in towns and villages throughout Eastern Slovakia.