May 2016 Facts

Issuing a fundraising challenge

Inez McDonald issued a challenge to Habitat St. Augustine/St. Johns County to raise 10,000 from 10 donors, each giving 1,000 or more. Her challenge included the promise to match the money raised with a 10,000 donation of her own, something she generously presented to Habitat earlier this year.

At one point, the longtime resident of St. Augustine considered setting up a trust for charitable organizations upon her death, but decided instead to donate now. “Why not enjoy giving money away while you’re still alive?” she says.

Plus, she can see the result of her support: “I can go out and see the houses.”

Alia Reimer, executive director of Habitat St. Augustine/St. Johns County, says, “We are truly grateful, not just for Inez’s donation, but for her challenge that sparked the donations of so many more. Donations like Inez’s have called attention to the need for our affluent community to also support affordable housing initiatives.”

Helping flood-affected families

Incessant rains late last year caused flooding in Tamil Nadu, as well as the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. Hundreds of thousands of homes were damaged or destroyed. In response, Habitat India distributed emergency shelter kits containing tarps, ropes, water filters, buckets, kitchen sets, bio-mass stoves, mats and personal hygiene items.

Strengthening ties in Kenya

According to the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa, only about 3 percent of Africans are able to afford a traditional mortgage, with other available financing generally through informal and much more costly means. Last fall, Habitat hosted an event in Naivasha, Kenya, that brought together participants from the financial and construction sectors to strengthen the ties between them and to explore the continued expansion of affordable housing finance in the region.

“Because of Habitat, I am able to give Nevea something that I never had in my childhood: a place where she can stay and grow for many years, a place where she can make lifelong friends, a place with a yard for her and our family dog to run and play, a place she can come back to when she is all grown up — a place to call home.” — LaGail, Habitat Huron Valley homeowner

Receiving recognition in Zambia

In December, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees recognized Habitat Zambia for excellence in their work with long-term Angolan refugees in Meheba. Habitat Zambia has coordinated with government agencies and partnered with nongovernmental organizations to relocate 300 refugees from a camp where they had lived for more than 40 years to a new area with startup shelters, plots for agriculture, a school, access to water and sanitation, and health care.

Ending poverty around the world

Whether you are reading this from a high-rise apartment in the United States, a Soviet-era social housing complex in Bulgaria, an informal settlement in Brazil or a one-story house in rural Zambia, you can be part of ending poverty.

Solid Ground, Habitat’s innovative global advocacy campaign, is designed to remove one of the biggest obstacles to a world where everyone has a decent and affordable place to live: access to land for shelter.

Shelter takes different forms and shapes around the world, but no matter where you live or what you live in, you depend on land. “Land” doesn’t necessarily mean soil itself, though that’s included. Think of land as “space,” as a place to cook your meals, to relax and sleep, to feel safe. Land is the foundation for life.

While the global population is growing, the planet isn’t. As an increasing number of people move into cities and urban areas, land for shelter is becoming less available and more contested. Just a few examples: In Nepal, people are struggling to return to their land after devastating earthquakes. In the Dominican Republic, people who live in slums are being evicted from their homes because they can’t get legal title, even to a place they’ve occupied for years.

Solid Ground addresses such challenges by advocating for better policies, laws and systems in four key areas:

expanding security of tenure promoting gender equality in property rights upgrading slums making communities more disaster resilient.

Access to land lies at the heart of ending poverty — without land, there can be no housing, and housing is key to helping families achieve stability, strength and self-reliance. The goal of Solid Ground is to ensure that everyone has access to land for shelter so that everyone can have a decent place to live.

Join Habitat’s global network in making a worldwide impact!