A man smiles as he stands proudly in front of his Habitat home in New Orleans.

Habitat Magazine: September 2025

See how one homeowner is thriving twenty years after Hurricane Katrina; find out what access to clean water means to families in Argentina and Kenya; and more.

A row of colorful cottages with wide, welcoming front porches line a sidewalk in New Orleans.

Disaster recovery and resilience around the world

Habitat is one of the only nonprofits responding to disasters that has affordable and safe housing as our core mission. In partnership with communities impacted by disasters throughout the world, our local teams deliver shelter solutions and unique expertise in disaster resilience and recovery.

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Sustainable, affordable access to clean water

Solio Village, Kenya

“In a few months, our village will be greener, our farms more productive, and our lives significantly improved.”

— Joseph, Solio Village resident

Joseph joined with other local leaders to bring safe, clean drinking water to homes and farms in his village.

Alongside his community, he partnered with Habitat for Humanity Kenya to build new neighborhood water wells and rehabilitate existing ones that were out of service or underperforming. They installed solar-powered pumps and new pipelines, bringing clean water directly to thousands of residents.

Before, women and children walked hours each day to access water — taking time away from school, work and farming — and even then, water sources weren’t reliable, exposing families to disease, contaminating crops and hurting livestock. Even those households with well access sometimes weren’t able to pump water because of high electricity costs.

Now, through the efforts of these leaders and Habitat’s help, families can access clean water reliably and affordably. When we collaborate with communities to help create local solutions to local problems, families are able to lead healthier lives and are freed to focus on education, employment and other opportunities.

A woman and two young children sit on the concrete stairs of their vibrant blue home. They all smile and the small dog in the woman's arms licks her face.

Women who upgrade housing and improve health in Argentina

Health and housing are inextricably linked. Meet two women who took action to build their own bathrooms and improve their family’s health and find out more about how we advocate for policies that improve housing health around the world.

See the impact

An older woman and a young boy peek out from the doorway of a bright lilac house with clean-swept concrete flooring.

Health starts with a home

Isabel María has lived in her home in Cartagena, Colombia, for decades but now celebrates a critical upgrade: concrete floors. Isabel María’s grandchildren — like so many children across Latin America and the Caribbean — would often get sick because of the dirt floors in her home. A World Bank study showed that a concrete floor can eliminate the parasites, bacteria and insects that cause illness and can help to improve a family’s overall well-being.

Habitat for Humanity, in collaboration with the Inter-American Cement Federation —helps thousands of families like Isabel Maria’s make this crucial change to concrete. We tackle these systemic health issues because we know that healthy people and healthy communities start with healthy homes.

Cropped world map showing the regions Habitat works in.

Our work around the world

Habitat has helped more than 62 million people throughout 70 countries around the world build their lives on their own terms through safe, affordable housing. With people at the center, we create a lasting impact in communities across the world. Take a look at where, together, we’re building better futures.

Explore our recent impact

A foundation for the future: Built at home

When Nicole first learned about Habitat, she signed up to be a volunteer. As a mother of three daughters, she strives to lead by example. “I’m teaching them how it’s good to give,” she says. “No matter what, we have to find ways to give.”

When the team at Habitat North Central Georgia asked her if she was interested in becoming a Habitat homeowner herself, Nicole didn’t hesitate: “I said yes!”

Earlier this year, she helped build her home in Gainesville, Georgia – a place where new memories quickly began to take root. One of the first was celebrating her oldest daughter, Paris, graduating from high school.

Now the family continues to look ahead. Paris is applying to colleges, while her younger sisters, Karmen and Evyve, have the space to focus on their own educations and futures.

A woman and her two daughters pose with arms spread joyfully. They stand in the front entrance of their Habitat house with small but growing shrubs visible at their feet.

“I tell my girls, ‘We have a home,’” she says. “You have a garden. You can plant. You can grow whatever you want.”’ And they are. Their lives are blooming, filled with family nights, graduations and the promise of many more celebrations to come.

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