HABITAT FACTS:
- Habitat began working in Paraguay in 1998.
- Individuals served in FY2022 – 4,035
- Through new constructions – 385
- Through incremental building -- 855
- Through repairs – 2,795
- Volunteers engaged in FY2022 – 2,935
COUNTRY FACTS:
Capital city – Asunción
Population – 7.5 million
Life expectancy – 70 years
Unemployment rate -- 7.6%
Below poverty line -- 26.9%
The housing need in Paraguay
According to the Ministry of Urban Planning, Housing and Habitat, Paraguay needed 1.1 million houses in 2011, a figure that increases each year. The high cost of housing loans is seen to contribute to the steep backlog. More than 80% of the housing deficit is qualitative, with homes in need of improvement to be habitable and safe.
It is estimated that 52.9% of the country’s poor lives in urban areas. By 2025, 64.4% of Paraguay’s population will be concentrated in urban areas, according to the General Directorate of Statistics, Surveys, and Censuses. In the capital city of Asunción, 20% of the families live in informal settlements without access to basic services.
How Habitat addresses the need
Improving living conditions of vulnerable groups
We work through strategic alliances. Our projects focus mainly on addressing needs related to access to water, sanitation, and hygiene; integrated settlement improvement; disaster risk reduction and response; construction technical assistance; and housing microfinance.
For the future of our children
We seek to improve the quality of life by contributing to the human right to adequate housing for the harmony, health and safety of families, especially their children.
Corporate partnerships
In alliance with companies and within the framework of their social responsibility programs, we provide opportunities to their staff members to build or improve their homes.
Financing services projects
We partner with banking entities such as Visión Bank, Familiar Bank, Yoayú Cooperative, and Itaú Bank to provide low-income families with accessible financing and technical assistance for building safe and quality homes.
Awareness-raising, volunteer engagement, and advocacy
We promote actions to respond to the need for housing through mobilizing volunteers, involving public and private sector partners, and influencing public policies:
- Mujeres Construyen, or Women Build, promotes awareness of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality.
- The Salud al Agua campaign is a fundraising and awareness initiative to improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions in vulnerable settlements, contributing to SDG 6 on water and sanitation.
- The volunteer program in Paraguay is organized nationally and internationally so that hundreds of people can get involved and contribute to access to housing with families and communities.
- Our advocacy efforts focus on water and sanitation, financing affordable housing for women, land-use, and urban planning.
What you can do
DONATE
Donate at http://www.habitat.org.py/dona/
VOLUNTEER
The Global Village program has resumed builds in select locations in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Please visit habitat.org/gv for more information and updates.
TITHE
Habitat affiliates in the U.S. support international work through an annual tithe. For additional information, email [email protected] or contact your local Habitat organization.
CONTACT
Habitat for Humanity Paraguay, Sargento Tomas Lombardo 352, Loma Pyta – Asunción
Phone: +595 21 328 2773, +595 21 328 7499 Email: [email protected]
Website: habitat.org.py Facebook: HabitatParaguay Instagram: HabitatParaguay X:HabitatParaguay LinkedIn: HabitatParaguay
