In 2012, Mustafa’s typical day as a cab driver in Syria took an abrupt turn. During a routine exchange with a passenger about the ongoing war, he made a passing jest about a statue of the Syrian president. This offhand remark led to his arrest and brutal imprisonment two days later.
The moment their Habitat for Humanity home was completed, Gabriela, Valentin and their 2-year-old daughter, Evelina moved in – even though it was Christmas Eve. “We were so excited to start the new year in our home,” says Gabriela. So excited, in fact, that the young family only brought a mattress and Christmas tree with them on move-in day.
Climate change poses a significant threat to housing security, particularly for low-income communities. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires, are becoming more frequent and severe. Furthermore, sea level rise poses an increasing threat to families and their homes in low-lying coastal regions.
Pre-existing gender and identity inequalities are being compounded by the Ukraine war – affecting the risks and impacts of the war, the patterns of displacement, and access to humanitarian aid. Vulnerabilities due to longstanding gender inequality intersect with several other aspects of identity diversity within Ukraine, that have traditionally resulted in discrimination and inequities. Read more about the challenges in the Ukraine Rapid Gender Analysis.
Having the experience with JTI Global WASH Fund helping thousands of people get access to clean and safe water in the last four years in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Mexico, Habitat for Humanity International has launched two new three-year WASH projects in Bolivia and Indonesia.
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.
“We were waiting for death,” says Asma, a 23-year-old nursing school graduate and the daughter of Khaled and Daniela. Reflecting on the past month in Gaza, she recounts the experiences of her family. Her father, a 60-year-old mechanical engineer, and her mother, a 54-year-old born and raised in Brașov, Romania, were part of the first group of evacuees from the Gaza Strip to arrive in Romania on November 8. Their large, close-knit family of 13 includes their 6-month-old granddaughter Hanan, whose name means compassion and affection.
Habitat for Humanity International is calling on delegates at the COP28 climate change conference to prioritize the housing needs of vulnerable populations, particularly those who are living in slums and informal settlements, by taking action that will meaningfully address the impact of climate change on safe, decent, and affordable housing.
“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.”
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.”