Children playing in a new park

Jordan's Middle East Refugee Crisis Initiative (MERCI): Addressing the Challenge of Decent Housing

Jordan, home to one of the highest per capita shares of refugees in the world, faces significant challenges. Out of its 11 million population, one-third are refugees from neighboring countries like Palestine, Syria, and Iraq. Most have arrived in the last two decades due to regional conflicts, exerting immense pressure on the country’s public services, energy resources, and notably its water supply, as Jordan is one of the most water-scarce nations globally. For low-income families, securing decent housing is a major challenge due to economic conditions. With an unemployment rate of approximately 26%, over 2 million Jordanians lack access to affordable housing, and 1.36 million live in poor conditions. According to the UNHCR, 80% of refugees in Jordan live below the poverty line, including 60% who live in extreme poverty.

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Two children embracing on the beach.

Home makes the difference

David wanted nothing more than to provide a safe and decent home for his young son and daughter. Now, with the support of Habitat and the Wells Fargo Foundation, his family lives in an affordable home where they can thrive.

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Camilo with his wife and three kids in front of their cement block Habitat home in picturesque Chiapas, Mexico.

Seeds of stability

Habitat Mexico was helping families construct safe and durable homes near Camilo’s village and he frequently made the hours-long journey on horseback to their work site to check on their progress, learn about Habitat’s construction program and try to convince them to expand their program to his hometown further south — his persistence paid off.

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A group of trainees stand together.

Solar streetlamps bring security, opportunity

In Canaan, an informal settlement in Haiti of families displaced by the deadly 2010 earthquake, Habitat installed 200 energy-efficient streetlamps in capital-area neighborhoods and now is working to create a pool of qualified residents in each neighborhood to maintain them.

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Shawnee's daughter jumping in her home.

The impact of partnership and advocacy in D.C. 

Shawnee, Tami and Bobby represent three of the 13 families in the Towns at Ivy City development — and 41 in the larger Ivy City neighborhood — that have benefited from an ongoing partnership between D.C.’s Department of Housing and Community Development and Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C.

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