Habitat Marks a Milestone
Habitat for Humanity celebrates 25th anniversary by pledging to increase
production and expand into local, international chapters
Habitat for Humanity International celebrated its landmark 25th anniversary
in 2001 not by recounting its past successes but by pledging to build
even more homes.
The nonprofit group is increasing its production fivefold. In the past
24 years, Habitat volunteers have laid the foundation, nailed and painted
100,000 houses for families around the world. A new $500 million campaign
calls for the group to build its second 100,000 homes by the end of
2005.
The move is a sign of how Habitat, which began as one man’s ministry,
has grown over the years.
The new campaign, “More Than Houses: Rebuilding Our Communities,” will
introduce Habitat to new countries as well as develop additional affiliates,
or local chapters, in existing countries and increase the capacity of
current affiliates. More than a half million homeowner families will
benefit from this effort, said Jack Kemp, campaign chairman and former
secretary of HUD.
Looking to expand
Last year, Habitat was the 14th largest homebuilder in the United States,
said Nick Retsinas, a member on the board of directors. Currently, the
organization is dealing with how it can continue to keep its original
intent as it grows and expands its influence. For example, he said,
Habitat has focused on its mission to create housing, but people overlook
that it also values sustaining homeownership.
The organization is considering building a Habitat for Humanity International
University. “The university would be an investment in human capital.
It’s one way to recruit and nurture leaders worldwide,” said Retsinas.
Retsinas last volunteered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was at
a small township, and whites and blacks worked together to build homes.
He saw that in addition to homebuilding, there was reconciliation from
years of racism. Experiences like that produced a visceral reaction
that made him want to volunteer more, Retsinas said.
Habitat celebrated its anniversary in September 2001 in Indianapolis.
The celebration included training sessions and speeches by Kemp, former
President Jimmy Carter and Habitat founder Millard Fuller. The Indianapolis
affiliate also built and dedicated 25 homes.
In August, Carter returned to Asia for the annual Jimmy Carter Work
Project. Volunteers from around the world built 120 houses in Seoul,
South Korea. The project coincided with the first Habitat for Humanity
International “World Leaders Build,” which involved current and former
heads of state building Habitat homes in their capital cities.
President George W. Bush was the first to sign up for Habitat’s “World
Leaders Build” program. Bush joined Habitat during National Homeownership
Week in June to help build a home in Tampa, Fla.
Another of Habitat’s new programs is “Women Building a Legacy.” The
18-month program is designed to empower mothers and women of all ages
to work together to solve the crisis of substandard housing. It also
is committed to building at least 100 Habitat homes nationwide by the
end of 2002.
The first project was a five-house building blitz in Denver last May.
Volunteers included Cathy Keating, first lady of Oklahoma.
Through the years, Habitat houses have been built according to the
same guiding principles. They must be:
- Simple – Habitat houses are modestly sized – large enough for the
homeowner family’s needs, but small enough to keep construction and
maintenance costs to a minimum. For example, a three-bedroom house
may have no more than 1,050 square feet of living space according
to Habitat guidelines;
- Decent – Habitat uses quality, locally available building materials.
Trained staff supervise construction and educate volunteers and partner
families. House designs reflect the local climate and culture; and
- Affordable – The labor of volunteers and partner families, efficient
building methods, modest house sizes and a no-profit, no-interest
loan make it affordable for low-income people to purchase a Habitat
home.
Habitat houses in North America are generally built using wood frame
construction, with Gypsum board interior walls, vinyl siding and asphalt
shingle roofs. Some affiliates also use proven alternative building
materials such as adobe or straw bale construction.
Basic design features include a zero-step entrance and wide passage
doors and hallways. Houses built in partnership with families with disabilities
include additional accessibility features. The average Habitat home
in the United States costs $46,642.
A Habitat house usually takes 12 to 14 months to build. But the building
blitzes Habitat sponsors take as little as a week to build homes.
Habitat also has an environmental initiative that teaches affiliate
staff and volunteers to use sustainable construction techniques that
conserve natural resources and reduce long-term costs for Habitat homeowners.
Investing in ‘sweat equity’
Homeowner families are expected to invest their own labor, or “sweat
equity,” into the building of their homes and the homes of other families.
This reduces the cost of the house and increases the pride of ownership.
The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund that
is used to build more houses. Mortgage length varies from seven to 30
years. Homeowners also are expected to provide their own downpayments.
Habitat’s economic philosophy is based upon what Fuller calls the “economics
of Jesus.” The no-profit, no-interest components of the program comes
from a passage in the Bible (Exodus 22:25) that says those lending money
to the poor should not act as creditors and charge interest.
“I see life as both a gift and a responsibility,” Fuller says. “My
responsibility is to use what God has given me to help his people in
need.”
All Habitat affiliates are asked to tithe, or give 10% of their contributions,
to fund house-building work in other nations.
Habitat started when Fuller, a millionaire at the time, gave up his
possessions and successful business to live on Koinonia Farm, a Christian
community near Americus, Ga. During his stay there, he and his friends
began a ministry in building modest homes on a no-profit, no-interest
basis. Fuller, along with his wife, Linda, took this ministry to a mission
in Africa, where it was a success. When they returned home in 1976,
they formed Habitat as a new, independent organization.
Habitat, headquartered in Americus, has affiliates in more than 2,000
communities in 76 nations. Of the 17,208 Habitat homes built worldwide
last year, 5,129 were in the United States. That is a 25% increase in
production from a year earlier.
President promotes homeownership efforts
Acknowledging that the dream of homeownership eludes too many Americans,
President Bush highlighted his proposed budget for the Department of
Housing and Urban Development in a June 2001 radio address.
His 2002 budget dedicates more than $30 billion to HUD, an increase
of almost $2 billion over the current funding levels, he said. Some
Democrats in Congress, however, contend that the budget represents a
cut in spending.
“One particular program, the American Dream Downpayment Fund, will
provide $200 million in downpayment assistance to help 130,000 low-income
families buy homes,” Bush said in his address that marked National Homeownership
Week. “In addition, my administration announced earlier this week a
program to allow people who receive low-income rental assistance to
bundle a year’s worth of payments and use the money for a downpayment,
or to make monthly payments on a new mortgage.”
His administration also is proposing a $1.7 billion tax credit to support
the rehabilitation or new construction of up to 100,000 homes over a
five-year period.
Bush noted that the rate of homeownership across all races in the United
States is nearly 68%, but is less than 50% for African-American and
Latino families.
He ended his address by encouraging citizens to volunteer with Habitat
for Humanity and other organizations “to make the American dream a reality
for more families.”
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