The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | June 2008
| The Publication of Habitat for Humanity International | June 2008 |
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Scenes From...
 SAO PAULO, BRAZIL Sao Paulo, an immense city of nearly 18 million in southeastern Brazil, is a microcosm of the problems of rapid urbanization without proper planning. In this metro area alone, some 4 million people live in tenements or in the notorious slums known as favelas. To meet such overwhelming need, Habitat for Humanity Brazil has not simply stepped up the number and scope of building projects; it has redefined its tactics to include forging new partnerships with governments and other agencies, changing housing laws, creating community centers and job training facilities, and developing strategies for reaching the most impoverished families. |
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 CASABLANCA, CHILE When many of the city’s low-income families could not qualify under a traditional construction model, Habitat and Casablanca crafted a partnership: families commit 30,000 pesos (US$60) and hours of sweat equity, the city puts in 200,000 pesos ($400), and a Habitat Global Village team comes to assist and donates the remainder of the materials cost. The GV teams, alongside Casablancan families like that of 8-year-old Marcelo Lopez, construct compact two-room shelters with insulated walls and electricity. (Plumbing is not included since the shelters are considered “add-ons” to properties that already have running water.) The houses are built in about two weeks on property owned by extended family — in Marcelo’s case, his grandmother’s front yard. |
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 COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA A Habitat partnership with local nonprofit Asociacion Casa de los Ninos means healthier homes for 25 families like the one of Virgilio Torres and his wife Magaly Ovando. As part of the Arco Iris partnership, Habitat offers building materials and expertise, as well as volunteers and construction staff, to the family builders. Magaly suffers from parasitic Chagas disease, as do two of the couple’s sons. The solidly built brick Arco Iris house, Magaly says, means her younger children won’t get sick, too. |
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