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Travel and Build
Take a Global Village volunteer vacation and help people in a different part of the world
build Habitat houses.
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Habitat for Humanity Suriname -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Habitat for Humanity Suriname
Mission
Habitat for Humanity Suriname works in partnership with God and people from all walks of life, to develop communities with people of low income by building and renovating houses, so that each person has adequate housing in their community, living and growing in all that God proposes.
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History
Concerned about the country’s poverty housing situation, a group of citizens expressed an interest in 2001 to form a Habitat for Humanity program in Suriname. Approval came from Habitat for Humanity’s headquarters in 2003, and Habitat Suriname opened its doors as the 92nd Habitat program in the world.
Habitat for Humanity Suriname has begun forging partnerships with other local non-governmental organizations and agencies that have provided office space, supplies and funds. It is currently in the process of designing an adequate housing model that will reflect local customs and socio-economic conditions.
As in every Habitat program, future homeowners take an active role in the construction of their new houses and repay the cost of materials through a long-term, no-profit loan.
Housing need in Suriname
The government recently estimated that Suriname’s housing deficit is 20,000 units – a very high number given that the national total is approximately 90,000 households. This housing crisis is exacerbated by Suriname’s worsening poverty and rapid unplanned migration to urban areas. Much of Suriname’s housing stock is overcrowded and constructed of wood, which need costly maintenance due to the moist climate and termite infestation.
Twenty-seven percent of Surinamese lack access to safe drinking water and 12 percent lack access to a sanitary waste disposal system (this rises to almost 70 percent in rural areas). These health hazards contribute heavily to widespread malaria (the leading cause of death for children under five), acute respiratory infections, gastrointestinal diseases, intestinal worm infestation and polio. The United Nations placed Suriname in 77th place of 175 nations on its 2003 Human Development Index.
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