Luque, Paraguay

According to Paraguay’s Ministry of Urban Planning, the country faced a housing deficit of 1.1 million homes in 2011 — a gap that has continued to grow each year. Today, the high cost of home loans and limited access to affordable financing are contributing to the expanding housing backlog.

Habitat for Humanity Paraguay has collaborated with over 10,000 families and over 50,000 Paraguayans since its inception in 1996. You will be joining the 5,000 local and international volunteers that have already supported the work in the country since the program first began in the ‘90s.

Habitat families choose between building a traditional, complete or smaller modular home that can be expanded when the family is financially ready. Global Village volunteers will help a building contractor and local volunteers build two-bedroom, one-bath homes that are roughly 34 square meters.

Some of the construction tasks include:  

• Mixing mortar and concrete.
• Moving sand, bricks and mortar.
• Digging septic pits.
• Laying bricks.

Volunteers will stay in double-occupancy rooms at a hotel. Single-occupancy rooms are available by request for an additional charge. Please contact your team leader to request a single-occupancy room. Meals will vary slightly from day to day. Breakfast will be provided at the hotel. Lunches will be served on the build site on workdays and dinner will be at the hotel, local restaurant or arranged by the country program.
 

Barbara Thomas has led 20 teams across 15 countries and has served on staff with two U.S. affiliates, as well as with Habitat for Humanity International in both the United States and Europe. She leads Global Village teams to advance housing initiatives while fostering meaningful, cross‑cultural connections with people in communities around the world. To learn more about this build, please contact Barbara at [email protected].