HABITAT FACTS:
- Habitat began working in Argentina in 2002.
- Individuals served in FY2021 – 620
- Through new constructions – 25
- Through incremental building – 50
- Through repairs - 545
- Volunteers hosted in FY2020 – 501
COUNTRY FACTS:
Capital city -- Buenos Aires
Population -- 44.38 million
Life expectancy – 76 years
Unemployment rate -- 7%
Below poverty line -- 40.6%
The housing need in Argentina
The level of poverty in Argentina is increasing at an alarming rate, based on data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census. It is estimated that 40.6% of the population lives in poverty, and more than 50% works in the informal sector.
More than three in 10 persons lack adequate housing. They often experience critical overcrowding, lack of access to drinking water and sanitation services, dirt roads, and no means of transportation or access to the main services.
Migratory movements, the limited scope of social housing programs, and the scarcity of mortgage loans are factors influencing the housing deficit, which is aggravated by the significant increase in land prices, high inflation, currency devaluation, and successive economic crises.
How Habitat addresses the need
Neighborhood projects
Amid the reality of self-construction of homes, we provide tools and training to improve housing quality and self-management and achieve lasting changes. We offer financing and training (virtual or face-to-face), to impart specific knowledge and generate capacities for greater scale and impact.
- The Progressive Improvement methodology allows families to build a safe home or incorporate significant renovations through financially accessible phases. At the same time, families are trained in home economics, home care, and self-construction.
- Through the WASH, Health and Housing program, we consolidate methodologies for repairs and installation of toilets, as well as knowledge about water and sanitation both at home and in the community, working on access to toilets as a human right. In 2022 we will also incorporate a focus on menstrual health.
- In several localities of the country and through a wide network of partner organizations, we train and provide technical support to families who need to install or repair their roofs as well as improve the electrical installations in their homes.
- During 2022, thanks to funding from the Orphans and Vulnerable Groups program of Habitat’s tithing affiliates in the United States, we will work with families who have children with serious illnesses. In addition, through a fund from the Programa de Urbanización de Barrios Populares de Nación, we will be making intra-domiciliary water connections in 250 homes in the Saladero neighborhood of Bahía Blanca.
Supervised rentals
For 12 years we have been renting nine apartments in the Estela de Esperanzas building to families with a history of living in tenements, tenements, and boarding houses. After the COVID-19 crisis, the methodology was revised and now families are invited to join a Residence and Employment project, in which they are accompanied for one to three years to improve their employability and future housing solution.
This project continues to seek support in order to scale up and provide a greater response to a problem experienced by hundreds of thousands of people who are left out of the formal rental market in the City of Buenos Aires.
What you can do
DONATE
Donate at www.hpha.org.ar
VOLUNTEER
The Global Village program was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Please go to habitat.org/gv for updates, including when and where the program will resume.
TITHE
Habitat Argentina considers the affiliates and national offices that designate their tithe, partners in the mission. In addition to the importance of the donation, we value the exchange between programs in different parts of the world. To join in this possibility, write ARGENTINA on checks sent to: Habitat for Humanity International, Attn: Affiliate Tithe, 322 West Lamar St., Americus, GA 31709
CONTACT
Habitat for Humanity Argentina, Albarellos 1916 Oficina E12, Martínez, Buenos Aires, Argentina CP 1640 / [email protected]. Phone: +54 9 11 5667 7184 / www.hpha.org.ar
