Habitat for Humanity promotes access to adequate housing in IBD, civil society meeting
Managua, Nicaragua (October 20, 2014) — Habitat for Humanity will attend the XIV Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Civil Society meeting, during which it will promote access to adequate housing as critical factor to breaking the cycle of poverty.
This meeting, to be held in Managua (October 22-23, 2014), provides civil society organizations (CSOs) the opportunity for knowledge sharing and discussion on priority issues within the regional development agenda.
It also provides a space for dialogue, exchange of information and facilitating opportunities for over 250 CSOs from 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), and the private sector, the public sector and the IDB.
As explained by Maximiliano Brandt, associate director of Institutional Development Habitat for Humanity LAC, this activity facilitates alliances and relationships with other key actors of civil society, in the pursuit of initiatives that enable more families to build, improve or rehabilitate their homes.
“There is an urgent need for adequate housing in our communities and nations; it is estimated that 1 in 4 people in urban areas in Latin America and the Caribbean live in slums. Habitat for Humanity seeks to act as a partner and catalyst to build impact on communities, the sector and society”, he added.
At the meeting the following topics, in which Habitat for Humanity has already developed several projects, will be addressed:
Youth and Employment
In partnership with the Citi Foundation, Habitat for Humanity is developing collaboration models with housing market partners to provide financial solutions to low-income families. At the same time, it will create a portfolio of technical assistance services to be offered by a network of trained construction workers.
This project will benefit young adults working in the construction sector, who have an urgent need and a strong desire to improve their livelihoods, in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Peru, as well as workers who face barriers to better access to technical information for the safe and profitable development of housing improvements.
Adapting to climate change
In most Latin American countries, many low-income families cook over an open fire. This practice creates lung diseases, burns and deforestation, which contributes greatly to climate change.
In response, Habitat for Humanity develops programs for installing improved wood-saving stoves, focused on families living in extreme poverty in Guatemala and Mexico. During 2014, Habitat installed more than 4,000 of these stoves that not only contribute to an improved quality of life for these families, but also has a positive impact on the environment.
Gender Inequality
Through its project “Improving access to urban land and property rights for women and excluded families”, Habitat for Humanity helped to improve access to secure land for at least 3,000 women in peri urban areas in Bolivia, where customary land practices excluded them.
In partnership with the Women’s Leadership Network for Secure Tenure, Habitat successfully advocated for a legislative change. This change, signed into law in 2012, benefits 60% of the roughly 10 million people living in inadequate housing conditions without secure land tenure in Bolivia, and specifically 31% of Bolivian households who are headed by women.
Good practices for CSOs’ sustainability
As part of its objective to build sustainable organizations, Habitat for Humanity promotes the use of standards of excellence in its 16 national offices in Latin America and the Caribbean; these standards are analyzed and evaluated each year.
This tool enables national offices understand how institutional practices compare to the standards applied in the housing sectors, and how affiliation requirements should be implemented by any Habitat for Humanity organization.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat has helped more than 4 million people (750,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean) construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976. For more information, visit habitatlatino.org