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Habitat for Humanity Europe, Middle East and Africa

The latest housing updates

from Habitat for Humanity

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Everything you need to know about volunteering with Habitat for Humanity

At Habitat for Humanity, volunteering takes on many shapes. Not every volunteer may swing a hammer, but every volunteer helps move us closer to a world where everyone has a decent place to live.In just the first half of 2025, more than 3,300 people volunteered with Habitat for Humanity across Europe and the Middle East. Some helped build homes in Romania, Kenya, and Malawi. Others organized charity dinners in Poland, sorted donated goods in Irish ReStores, ran upcycling workshops in Great Britain, or supported communications and events in Jordan and Egypt. No two roles are alike. There is something for everyone who is willing to help.

Beneficiary speaking at the end of a Hope Build in Romania

Hands, hearts, and voices in Romania

Volunteering has a unique power to build team spirit, create shared memories, and fill people with a real sense of accomplishment. It pulls us away from screens and routines and places us into something deeply human, working side by side, learning from one another, and becoming a community.This same power has been visible across Romania over the past three years. From 2023 to 2025, Habitat for Humanity Romania organized six Hope Builds, bringing people together from Romania and beyond. These volunteer construction events unite teams, strangers, colleagues, and friends to build homes for families facing difficult socioeconomic and family situations.

International Day of Volunteers 2025: Every contribution matters towards better housing outcomes for all

Over the past year, Habitat for Humanity worked alongside volunteers who contributed nearly 42,000 hours’ worth of time, skills and energy to improve housing conditions in communities across Africa. Today, we highlight how volunteering continues to shape individuals, strengthen community connections, and inspire long-term civic engagement.

Photo: a women and two children from Zambia sitting on stairs in front of their house

Africa

In Africa we empower low-income people to build a better life for themselves and their children.

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Inside a flat in Lebanon - two girls and their mother reading a book together

The Middle East

Our mission in the Middle East is to build a safe and stable environment where families and communities can thrive.

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Europe

More and more people in Europe face problems to find a decent place to live. We help to make homes affordable.

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Press releases

Turning Empty Buildings into Homes. How Bytom Shows a New Way Forward in Affordable Housing

December 15, 2025

In the heart of Bytom, a historic 19th-century tenement building on Piekarska Street, Poland, has been given a new life. Long abandoned and deteriorating, the building has been transformed into four warm, safe, and modern apartments, offering families—including Ukrainian refugees and local residents—a chance to call this central Silesian city home. What was once a vacant, neglected property is now a symbol of hope, cooperation, and sustainable urban regeneration. It is proof that solving Europe’s housing crisis does not always require new construction—sometimes it’s about breathing new life into what already exists.

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Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company Limited and Habitat for Humanity launch landmark housing microfinance solution in Tanzania

December 15, 2025

Tanzania Mortgage Refinance Company (TMRC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) in August 2022 to engage in an effort to promote the ability of TMRC in unpacking the potential of Housing Microfinance (HMF) in Tanzania and supporting TMRC to develop and expand its commercial relationships with low-income consumers as a means of increasing their access to affordable and quality housing solutions, a first step in the organizations’ joint-effort to expand and strengthen the low-income housing finance sector in Tanzania.

New housing research. Repurposing Empty Spaces to Address the Housing Crisis in Great Britain

December 15, 2025

Across England, Scotland, and Wales, the housing crisis continues to deepen. Record levels of homelessness, rising temporary accommodation costs, and a chronic shortage of genuinely affordable homes are placing enormous pressure on households and local authorities alike. At the same time, thousands of buildings—many of them publicly owned—sit vacant or underused, representing a missed opportunity to respond more quickly and sustainably to housing need.

New housing research. Turning Vacant Spaces into Social Housing in Poland

December 14, 2025

Poland’s housing challenge is often framed as a problem of shortage. Yet across the country, thousands of buildings stand empty or underused—many of them publicly owned—while access to affordable housing remains out of reach for low-income households and vulnerable groups. This contradiction lies at the center of a new research (August 2025) study exploring how non-residential vacancies could become part of the solution.

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Building capacity for greater impact

“We used to have very small apartments,” Alma Mushi says of Albania’s Communist period from 1944 to 1991. Alma serves as deputy marketing director for Fondi BESA, Albania’s largest microfinance institution. “In my father’s house, there were eight or nine people living in two rooms and one kitchen. Everyone was living like that, with two or three sons (and their wives) in the same small apartment.”

Building capacity for greater impact

Valbona Xhafa, regional manager at Fondi BESA, emphasizes the deep cultural value placed on homeownership in Albania: “We Albanians are very sensitive about our houses. We all want to [own] houses. That’s what it means to live well.” This widespread desire for better living conditions drove Fondi BESA to introduce a new housing loan product in 2021, backed by an investment from MicroBuild. The initial rollout of this product faced challenges, as Alma notes: “We’d had the product for more than a year, but we were hardly disbursing any housing loans.”

Uniting through building: Habitat for Humanity's volunteer effort in Romania

Dozens of corporate professionals from all around the world. Different backgrounds. Different experiences. But united for the same cause. To help build houses with families that deserve a new beginning.

What you need to know about the Africa Housing Forum

The first Africa Housing Forum is rapidly approaching, and we can’t wait to lead off the discussions on the future of African cities. This hybrid event will take place both virtually and in-person at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on 12 – 14 May 2022.

Housing Poverty in Romania: A New Housing Model

Habitat for Humanity Romania has recently launched a pilot project which aims to find the most cost-effective housing solution. There have been 6 buildings already built. Is it possible to build a house in 5 days? Find out more in this episode with our guest Roberto Pătrășcoiu - national director of Habitat for Humanity Romania.

Climate Change and Housing: How Must Our Homes Adapt

Climate change affects all areas of our daily lives. Recent study published by The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change says that Climate change is already affecting every inhabited region across the world. Do our homes need to change or has the process already started? How can we save energy? This and much more in the first episode of season 2 of Home Sapiens Podcast with our speaker Besim Nebiu.

What is a slum?

In episode 3 of our podcast series, we talk about informal settlements in Africa with Charles Witbooi, Program Head for Advocacy and Volunteering Engagement at Habitat for Humanity South Africa.

Studying by candlelight

Episode 5 is driven by young enthusiasts. Linus Wahome, founder and CEO of ManPro Systems Ltd, shares his childhood and school memories . As a family of three tried hard to provide best conditions for their children, Linus and his siblings had to share one candle while doing their homework. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending.

Equality in an unequal society

Episode 4 brings up the issue of gender equality. We take a closer look at customs and traditions in Lesotho. Stories of women evicted from their homes are typical in many communities in this country. Fungai Mukorah, national director of Habitat for Humanity Lesotho, walks us through women’s experiences and their fight for shelter.

Understanding housing in the Middle East and the impact of the Syrian crisis

Almost a decade since the start of the Syrian crisis, the hardships and suffering of millions of Syrians continues. More than half the Syrian population has been displaced, and over 5 million are registered as refugees in neighbouring countries.

COVID-19: Housing at the Center

Since COVID-19 pandemic first broke out in China in December 2019, affecting over 199 countries to date, it has brought the plight of poverty, inequality and the lack of services and opportunity into the spotlight and underscored one glaring reality.

Measuring and Reporting Social Impact

Ethical Corporation by Reuters Events hosts a one-hour webinar with senior leaders sharing their practical ideas on how to approach measuring and reporting social impact. This discussion is moderated by Heather Alner, EMEA Resource Development Director, Habitat for Humanity International.

Stories

Habitat for Humanity Europe, Middle East and Africa

The latest housing updates

from Habitat for Humanity

Stories from Europe, the Middle East and Africa

Press releases

All stories