Habitat World December 2010

WHAT WILL YOU BUILD?

AT T H I S V E RY M OM E N T, in locations all around the world, Habitat volunteers, supporters
and partner families are building, renovating and repairing houses. Their work strengthens
families, cultivates better communities and creates a world of hope. Help make it happen.

IN THIS ISSUE:
An American folk icon lends his
voice to Habitat efforts in New
York’s Hudson Valley
 Foundations
From Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford
Imagine the Difference
I 
n this issue of Habitat World, on our
website and through a series of radio
and television public service an-
nouncements, we have been asking
the question “What Will You Build?”
We know that our efforts are about
more than building, repairing and
renovating houses. Habitat for Humanity
builds hope, community, educational op-
portunities, health benefits and so much
more — now to an even greater degree.
EZRA MILLSTEIN
Because of the support of readers like
you, Habitat was able to serve 74,960 fami-
lies around the world last year. In the days
ahead, we will build on that inspirational
number through your continued generosity
and dedication.
Every day, I see the things that Habitat
builds. Faith, for example. Countless volun-
teers, homeowners, donors and even by-
standers have understood God in amazing
new ways as compassionate people around
the globe reach out to help neighbors. God
continues to stir in my heart when I see the
dreadful shelter conditions that some must
endure. But I am also privileged to look
into eyes that sparkle with hope and prom-
ise when families celebrate moving into a
place they can call home.
Recently in Zambia, I witnessed just
one example of Habitat’s incredible impact.
Seventeen-year-old Dorcas suddenly found
herself as head of her household after her
father died and her mother left home one
2 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
day and never returned. The crude shelter
in which Dorcas lived with her siblings
provided little protection for the two oldest
girls who were assaulted repeatedly by men
who cut their way through the tarp sides of
the lean-to at night.
For Dorcas, a Habitat home means hav-
ing a safe place with doors she can lock.
In the lives of orphaned and vulnerable
children, Habitat is building security and
reassurance.
I would also say that Habitat builds
bridges. Not long ago, I visited a once-
vibrant North Carolina community that
had fallen into neglect and decay. To create
a vision for revitalization, Habitat leaders
met with residents. Soon, local officials rec-
ognized the importance of this area to the
history — and future — of the entire com-
munity. Businesses and faith-based groups
came forward with funding and volunteer
labor. Neighborhood leaders and schools
joined in. And so, in the Cherry Street
community, Habitat is building a bridge
between a historic past and tomorrow’s
opportunities.
As you turn these pages, you will see
compelling photographic evidence of the
many things that Habitat builds, of how our
combined efforts impact more and more
families and futures. I thank you for your
unceasing support and ask you to think se-
riously about how else you can help. What
will you build?
JONATHAN T.M. RECKFORD
Chief Executive Officer
Habitat for Humanity International
HabitatWorld The Publication of
Habitat for Humanity International
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
MANAGING EDITOR
Jennifer Lindsey
Shala Carlson
ASSISTANT EDITOR
PHOTO EDITOR
PRINT SUPERVISOR
DESIGN
Rebekah Daniel
Bob Jacob
Mike Chapman
Journey Group, Inc.
WHO WE ARE
Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, Christian
housing ministry that works both to eliminate
poverty housing around the world and to make
adequate housing a matter of conscience and
action. Habitat welcomes to the table partners
from any faith — or from no faith — who are
willing to pick up a hammer to help improve the
lives of families needing decent shelter.
W HAT W E D O
Habitat for Humanity organizations build,
renovate and repair houses in partnership
with people in need of adequate housing.
Homeowners are selected locally by Habitat
organizations based on their need for housing,
ability to repay a no-profit loan and willingness
to partner with Habitat. Loan repayments
contribute to help build and repair additional
houses. Because Habitat’s loans are no-profit,
they are affordable for low-income partners.
S TAT E M E N T O F P U R P O S E
Habitat World magazine is the educational, infor-
mational and outreach publication of Habitat for
Humanity International. Its purpose is to further
Habitat’s goal of eliminating inadequate and pov-
erty housing as a demonstration of the gospel
of Jesus Christ, and to raise awareness of the
issues involved in this work throughout the orga-
nization and the world community. Habitat World
is free to anyone who wishes to receive it.
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
Habitat World, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA
31709-3498, habitatworld@habitat.org,
(800) HABITAT, (229) 924-6935
fax (229) 931-9629
FOR SUBSCRIPTION CHANGES
Call the number above or e-mail
publicinfo@habitat.org.
Habitat World can be read online at
habitat.org and is available on request in Braille.
Circulation: 1,043,768
Copyright ©2010
Habitat World (ISSN: 0890–958X) is published
quarterly by Habitat for Humanity® International,
121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709–3498.
Vol. 27, No. 4. December 2010.
 Blueprints
p Your content guide to Habitat World
DECEMBER 2010
In Kumsangir, Tajikistan,
carpenter Misbuhiddin Salim
helps to renovate a Habitat home.
Microloans from Habitat Tajikistan
allow partner families to winterize
their dwellings, making them warmer
and healthier places to live.

FEATURES 8
EZRA MILLSTEIN

THE BIG PICTURE IN EVERY ISSUE

8 In this special year-end issue, Habitat World shares
a collection of powerful images from some of the F O U N DAT I O N S : Habitat for
Humanity International CEO Jonathan
many places around the world where Habitat makes
Reckford asks “What Will You Build?”
a difference daily.
PA G E 2

• Facing challenges in Paraguay PA G E 1 1

HA B I TAT L A S : Poets Build in South
• Struggling toward home in Seattle PA G E 1 2 ON THE COVER Korea; Habitat Haiti continues to make
In this special year-end progress; a Dutch foundation supports
• Knowing home in Omaha, Neb. PA G E 1 5 issue, Habitat World shares
a collection of powerful
renovation projects in Central Asia.
• Rolling up sleeves outside Hong Kong PA G E 1 6 images from some of the PA G E 4
many places where Habitat
is making a difference. The
• Finishing construction in Kyrgyzstan PA G E 1 8
particulars of Habitat’s work
F I E L D N O T E S : Located in New York’s
around the world differ Hudson Valley, Habitat Greater Newburgh
• Learning and building in North Carolina PA G E 1 9 from place to place, but the highlights its community-changing work
goal is always the same
• Seeing a difference in Downey, Calif. PA G E 2 1 — the creation of decent,
with a concert headlined by the legendary
affordable housing. Pete Seeger.
• Creating community in Ethiopia PA G E 2 2 Photos by Steffan Hacker, PA G E 2 5
Ezra Millstein and Mikel
Flamm

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 3

Habitatlas
International news

Dutch
foundation
underwrites
renovation
Armenian
7 projects in
Kyrgyzstan
Housing
Study offers

United States 2 analysis,

action
Olympic
Committee
4 Earthquake
volunteers help 6 response Typhoon- Poetry in
build it efforts
progress
Habitat
Cameroon 8 Habitat
affected
families in
5 3 motion at
South
Habitat
in Haiti completes
20 houses
1 Kenya Vietnam
increases dedicate
Korea build
Guatemala
helps build
9 its impact Habitat
houses
wood-fire
eco-stoves

Numbers on the map above correspond to numbers in the text about the specified country.

1 Habitat Kenya exponentially increases

number of families served

I
n the last fiscal year, Habitat for
Humanity Kenya served more
than 1,500 families — an increase
of 240 percent from the previous
year. This tremendous change is a
result of a shift in focus: partner-
ing with organized community
self-help groups to make small loans that
are repayable in a short period of time.
These village savings groups, usually 15
to 30 members each, already function as
informal, efficient savings mechanisms in
communities. A Habitat officer meets with
them, offering training and information
on housing microfinance loans. Once a
partner homeowner has utilized a small
first loan and established a good record of
repayment, additional phases of lending
can follow.
One participant in this new approach
is retired teacher Kipkiror Tesot, who lives
with his wife and children in Bomet. The
family inhabited a two-room mud house
with iron sheeting for a roof and a small,
detached kitchen.
“It used to be such a hard task for us to
continually repair the walls of the house
after the rainy season,” he says. “It was such
a relief when I learned about Habitat.”
Kipkiror’s first loan of 20,000 kes
(US$267) enabled him to lay the founda-
tion of a new house. Through the sale of
farm produce, he repaid that amount in
only 12 months, and a second loan allowed
him to complete his home. “My life has
changed dramatically,” he says. “I never had
hope that I would live in a decent house of
my own.”
Habitat Kenya partner families use their
loans for home improvements, incremental
building projects, the construction of
auxiliary buildings like latrines and the
completion of houses. Habitat Kenya
currently has six branches and is in the
process of rolling out a seventh.

4 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 Habitat World is also published online at
HABITAT.ORG/HW
with additional coverage of Habitat’s work.

first of its kind in Habitat history — put

members of the Korean Poets Association
to work on eight units of a two-story resi-
dential building project. Association presi-
dent and professor emeritus at Hanyang
University, Geon-Cheong Lee led the build.
“The Korean verb jitda — “construct” or
“make” — applies to both writing a poem
and building a home,” says I-Yong Kwon,
adviser to Habitat Korea and a Korean
Poets Association chairperson. “Hence, one
can jitda a poem or jitda a house or jitda a
meal. They are all essential to human life.”
After completing the build, the poet vol-
unteers took part in Yangpyeong’s Festival of
Hope, gathering at a local riverside park to
recite poetry focusing on home and family.

UNITED STATES Once again this

4 year, the United States Olympic
Committee selected Habitat to be a part of
its “Team for Tomorrow” program. As a
STEFFAN HACKER

result, 41 Olympic and Paralympic athletes,

Olympic hopefuls, and friends and fam-
ily members have volunteered on Habitat
Kipkiror Tesot was able to complete construction on his family’s home after receiving a series a build sites throughout the United States.
small loans from Habitat Kenya’s housing microfinance program. The loans allowed him to build Affiliates that have hosted USOC vol-
his home in stages with materials he had been saving for more than 10 years. unteers this year, both through group build
days and individual efforts, include Habitat
Washington D.C., Salt Lake Valley Habitat,
ARMENIA Habitat Armenia re- ic collapse, armed conflict, deteriorating Anchorage Habitat, Twin Cities Habitat
2 cently has completed its Armenian condominiums. (Minn.), New Orleans Habitat, Habitat
Housing Study, which analyzes the coun- In addition to analysis, the study in- Grayson County (Texas), Habitat Grand
try’s housing issues and identifies vulner- cludes recommendations on how Habitat, County (Colo.), Coastal Habitat (N.J.) and
able groups affected by current policy. government and other organizations can Adirondack Habitat (N.Y.).
Through this report, Habitat Armenia begin to address primary needs and form Three-time Olympian Julie Chu
aims to enhance its understanding of the plans to solve long-term problems. To date, volunteered in D.C. “I believe a good home
current housing environment, allowing the Habitat Armenia has partnered with nearly is the foundation for a good life,” she says.
national organization to scale up existing 600 families in the country. “Being able to contribute to a house that
projects and develop new housing solu- will be someone’s home is an incredible
tions. The study’s findings demonstrate the SOUTH KOREA In August, nearly opportunity.” Team for Tomorrow is
many housing challenges that Armenia
3 30 Korean poets contributed both an ongoing relief effort that consists of
faces — the aftermath of a devastating 1988 literary skills and labor to a Habitat build in financial donations, volunteerism, disaster
earthquake that demolished more than 17 Yangpyeong. services, advocacy and other contributions
percent of available housing stock, econom- The Poets Build — thought to be the to communities.

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 5

Habitatlas Habitat World is also published online at
HABITAT.ORG/HW
with additional coverage of Habitat’s work.

VIETNAM In Hiep Duc, Habitat
5 Vietnam has dedicated five houses
with partner families affected by Typhoon
Ketsana.
Phan Van Hai is among those who now
have a solid and secure home. Hai, his wife
Huong and their three sons previously lived
in a thatched bamboo house. In September
emergency shelter kits and house assess-
ments and repairs to upgradeable transi-
tional shelters and core houses. Habitat
Resource Centers also are offering struc-
tural assessments, construction assistance,
financial literacy education, production
of construction materials, and vocational
training opportunities.

HABITAT SOUTH KOREA

2009, the force of Typhoon Ketsana tore off
half the roof of their house and destroyed
its walls. Now in his Habitat house, Hai
says, he has fewer worries.
Another 15 new houses will be built
and 184 existing homes renovated over a
two-year period. The project also includes
training local residents in community-
based disaster risk management and local
construction workers in the construction
and renovation of disaster-resistant houses.
Project partners include ExxonMobil,
the United Nations Development Program,
Holcim, Schneider Electric, Hiep Duc Peo-
ple’s Committee and Habitat San Francisco.
HAITI Rose Flore Charles and
6 her two children moved into one of
Habitat’s first transitional shelters in Leo-
gane in June. They had spent six months
living in a shack cobbled together out of
scraps. “Sleeping in the old shelter, the rain
always got in,” Charles says. “I’m thirsty for
this house. This is not just a transitional
shelter for me. It is a home.”
Charles represents the 50,000 Haitian
families that Habitat has committed to
serving in the aftermath of the January
2010 earthquake. Habitat’s response in-
cludes a variety of housing solutions, from
A key part of Habitat’s response strategy
is to employ Haitians whose livelihoods have
been impacted by the earthquake. Habitat
has hired construction supervisors and work-
ers in the cities of Cabaret and Leogane, with A group of poets put down their pens and
similar plans in Jacmel, Carrefour, Port-au- picked up hammers to help Habitat South
Prince and Croix-des-Bouquets. Korea build in Yangpyeong.
THE NETHERLANDS A Dutch
7 foundation is lending its support to
Habitat renovation projects in Kyrgyzstan.
Op Eigen Wieken is the foundation of a rehabilitate at least three buildings and
small independent housing association improve living conditions for almost 600
and supports housing and community in- residents.
frastructure projects around the world. Its
support of Habitat’s work in Central Asia CAMEROON Ndam Lawrence
will total 240,000 euros (US$305,000) over
8 Monah, his wife Justine Folefeh
four years. Bezafut and their two children never used
Habitat Kyrgyzstan has partnered with to know how long they would be able to
condominium associations in Bishkek since stay in one place. But after years of battling
2006. To date, through its condominium increasing rents and then sharing a home
renovation work, Habitat Kyrgyzstan has with a relative, the family now finally has a
served more than 1,800 families. Stichting place to call their own.
Op Eigen Wieken is supporting Habitat “I’ve always wanted to own my own
projects around Bishkek and in Tokmok, home, but our finances never allowed us to
an industrial center in the eastern Chui build our own. Renting was like throwing
region. The Tokmok project focuses mainly money into a bottomless pit,” says Ndam, a
on repairing roofs and sewage systems in doctoral student at the University of Buea. “I
the condominium buildings and will run am so thankful for this opportunity to own
for four years. In the first year, it aims to a home and pray that Habitat’s work can

WHERE WE WORK

Habitat for Humanity started in the United States in 1976, and today its work reaches around the world. Currently, Habitat is at work in all 50 states of the United States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Territory of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other countries around the globe, including: Afghanistan | Argentina | Armenia | Australia
Bangladesh | Bermuda | Bolivia | Botswana | Brazil | Bulgaria | Cambodia | Cameroon | Canada | Chile | China | Colombia | Costa Rica | Cote d’Ivoire | Dominican Republic | Egypt
El Salvador | Ethiopia | Fiji | France | Germany | Ghana | Great Britain | Guatemala | Guyana | Haiti | Honduras | Hungary | India | Indonesia | Jamaica | Japan | Jordan | Kenya | Kyrgyzstan
Laos | Lebanon | Lesotho | Macedonia | Madagascar | Malawi | Malaysia | Mexico | Mongolia | Mozambique | Myanmar | Nepal | Netherlands | New Zealand | Nicaragua | Northern Ireland
Paraguay | Peru | Philippines | Poland | Portugal | Republic of Ireland | Romania | Russia | Senegal | Singapore | Slovakia | South Africa | South Korea | Sri Lanka | Tajikistan | Tanzania | Thailand
Timor-Leste | Trinidad and Tobago | Turkey | Uganda | Ukraine | Vietnam | Zambia

6 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 Windows on the Work
GLIMPSES INSIDE HABITAT HAPPENINGS

1 Building begins in Hawk Point, Mo.

In July, Lincoln County Habitat broke ground on its very first house.
The affiliate officially joined the Habitat family in July 2009 and spent
expand across our country to help others.”
an eventful year fundraising and laying groundwork in the community,
Twenty new Habitat homes in Buea
cementing partnerships with the local Kiwanis Club and Chamber
were made possible by a two-year CISCO
of Commerce along the way. The first day of construction drew 30
foundation grant. In the first year, the le-
volunteers. Partner family Stacy Wood and her four children moved in at
gal route to acquire land was completed.
the end of September.
Building started in April 2009, and by
March of this year, only the final connec-
tions for water and electricity were left to 2 AmeriCorps members reunite in Charlotte, N.C.
Last year, more than 100 current and former Habitat Charlotte
be completed.
AmeriCorps members came together with the idea of raising the
$70,000 required for a local house sponsorship. This summer — after
GUATEMALA Wood-fire kitchens
9 have been ubiquitous throughout
nine months of gathering largely small, individual donations — the
Habitat AmeriCorps alumni met their goal, and some 40 volunteers
the western highlands of Guatemala for as
from across the country worked alongside homeowner Phor Kpuih to
long as most families can remember. And
complete the Habitat house in a weeklong blitz.
while they do have certain advantages —
heat during cold nights at high altitudes
and affordability — wood fires typically are 3 ReStore offers tool lending library in Orem, Utah
Thanks to donations from Provo’s Community Development
built inside or next to the home, often in
Block Program and Lowe’s, Habitat Utah County has
poorly ventilated areas. Asthma and respi-
established a tool lending library as part of its Habitat
ratory conditions are disproportionately
ReStore outlet. Locals are free to check out tools — items
high among families using open fires.
include everything from a chain saw and post setter to
Families deeply accustomed to cooking
a paint sprayer and carpet stretcher — for up to a week,
this way seek a solution that protects their
with no deposit or rental fees. Customers include Habitat
families and homes, but also preserves the
homeowners as well as other community residents.
warmth, the flavor of food and the long-term
affordability that open fires provide. Habitat
World Habitat Day events spanned
Guatemala is helping by partnering with
families to build wood-fire eco-stoves that are
4 a week in October
Since 1986, the United Nations has designated the first Monday
safe, well-ventilated and burn efficiently.
in October as World Habitat Day. In 2010, Habitat for Humanity
One family from each Guatemalan af-
International expanded its World Habitat Day observances to include
filiate has received one of these stoves at
a full week of events. The 27th Carter Work Project — held
half the usual loan amount and with one
Oct. 4-8 — spearheaded the World Habitat Day events. Eighty-
condition — that they open their home to
six houses were built, rehabilitated or repaired in six
those who might be doubtful so that they
communities: Washington, D.C.; Baltimore and Annapolis,
can see how it works and ask questions.
Md.; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn.; and Birmingham, Ala.
The approach has been key to encourag-
ing communities to embrace the Habitat Want to open a window on Habitat’s work in your community?
alternative. E-mail news suggestions to habitatworld@habitat.org.

HFHI WORLDWIDE AREA OFFICES

Africa/Middle East PO Box 11179, Hatfield, Pretoria 0028, South Africa.
Tel. 27-12-430-9200, AME@habitat.org
Asia/Pacific Q. House, 38 Convent Road, 8th Floor, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500,
Thailand. Tel. 66-0-2632-0415, ap_info@habitat.org
Europe/Central Asia Zochova 6-8, 811 03 Bratislava, Slovakia, ECA@habitat.org
Latin America/Caribbean PO Box 1513-1200 Pavas, San José, Costa Rica.
Tel. (506) 296-8120, LAC@habitat.org
United States 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709. Tel. (800) 422-4828,
(229) 924-6935, publicinfo@habitat.org
Office of Government Relations and Advocacy 1000 Vermont Ave. N.W., Suite 1100,
Washington, DC 20005. Tel. (202) 628-9171
Canada 40 Albert St., Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3S2. Tel. (519) 885-4565,
habitat@habitat.ca

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 7

 B E L OW /// Thirteen-year-old Naomi Wangui stands in front of her family’s Habitat house

in Naivasha, Kenya. The development is the result of a collaboration between Habitat Kenya
and local partners, including Panda Flowers Farm where Naomi’s mother Edith works. Edith joined
fellow employees there to help purchase the land where the new Habitat community sits.

8 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 BU I L D

WHAT
WILL
YOU
BUILD?
I N E V E RY E DI T ION , Habitat World provides
a picture for our readers, a mosaic of words and
images that bring to life an array of life-changing
events. Snapshots of work occurring on Habitat
build sites and projects around the world sit
alongside images of volunteers and partner families
in close collaboration, often contrasting a world of
hopelessness with a vision of a world of hope — a
world where decent and affordable housing provides
a cornerstone for stability, security and opportunity.
Every day, Habitat endeavors to build that world;
every quarter, Habitat World endeavors to show it to
you. In this special year-end issue, as we approach
the end of the first decade of a new century, we share
a collection of powerful images from some of the
many places where Habitat is making a difference.
And we ask you to help us build a bigger, more
beautiful Habitat mosaic.
As you turn these pages, picture more families
having healthier housing, more young students
getting stronger starts. Picture neighborhoods
becoming safer and brighter, communities growing
closer and better. Picture change. Most of all,
picture yourself helping it happen and help build it!
STEFFAN HACKER

TO SEE MORE PHOTOS and to view slideshows focusing

on topics such as housing microfinance and rehabilitation
projects, visit www.habitat.org/hw.

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 9

 BU I L D

Housing need exists all around you.

EZRA MILLSTEIN
It’s families living in dilapidated or makeshift shelters, with patchwork
walls and poorly sealed windows and doors. Children growing up in
cramped spaces that let in the cold and keep out the light. Mothers,
fathers, grandparents, cousins crowding too much life into too few rooms.
It’s living in a rundown apartment whose rent increases are as
unpredictable as the streets all around. Or tenuously settling on land you
don’t own in order to be close to available work. Or watching a disaster
devastate your community.
It’s not being able to keep your house warm, not having regular access
to clean water, not knowing “home” as a place of safety and joy.
It’s everywhere — in small towns, smaller villages, big cities, your city.
To fully understand the housing need that exists in communities
around the world is to fully appreciate the urgency of Habitat’s work.

What Will You Build?

AWARENESS /// Learn more
about poverty housing and
why your support of Habitat
is so important at habitat.org/
how/why.
MOMENTUM /// Take action
now. Visit habitat.org/gov to
become an advocate.
HOPE /// Your dollars can
make a difference. Make a
donation through habitat.org/
hwdonate.
STEFFAN HACKER

STEFFAN HACKER
EZRA MILLSTEIN

10 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 C L O C K W I SE F R OM L E F T /// Disasters and unrest can create housing catas-

trophes around the globe, often resulting in tent cities like this one in Carrefour,
Haiti. /// Families who live in substandard housing face days of frustration and fear.
Sixteen-year-old Lubabalo Ngqomashe and his younger brother prepare for another
morning in the Cape Town, South Africa, shack that their family calls home. /// And
yet, life goes on. In Nairobi, Kenya, a student returns home from school to Kibera, the

AMI CABRERA
largest slum in all of Africa. /// When housing is unsafe, often the young and most
vulnerable suffer most. Ian Gonzalez wades through floodwaters that have crept into
his uncle’s house in Calauan, Philippines.
Paraguay

SMALL STEPS
In the flatlands of Paraguay, Don Albino Rolon
Lugo wakes at dawn to tend his meager crops. The
63-year-old widower works the family land and
supports his mother Carmen, his daughter-in-law
and his 2-year-old grandchild. Each day, he wakes
with the sun to visit a densely planted field of yuc-
ca, peanuts, corn and beans. At the end of each
winter, he prepares the land for replanting, taking
care to cover new seeds with grass and twigs so
they will survive the arduous winter.
Don Albino has lived in Finagrain since the day
he was born. His sisters — and so many others —
have left the community to seek job opportunities
and better lives elsewhere. The nearest urban area
is a mere 12 miles away, but it can feel much more
isolated. “With no public transportation service
that extends to the community, it’s extremely dif-
ficult to commute without a car,” says community
leader Alberto Cardozo. “This is just one of the
many things that would help families in Finagrain
improve their quality of life without having to move
to the city.”
Don Albino’s house, like most shelters in the
community, is patched together with scraps of
wood. The floor is dusty and unfinished, the roof
frequently repaired. The family’s bathroom is an
improvised latrine, a deeply dug hole only a few
steps from the home that is surrounded by scraps
TAHILA MENTZ

of wood. The earth around the latrine, Don Albino

says, often becomes unstable, and he is forced to
move its location.
Many families in Finagrain face this same
challenge. “In this community alone, at least 100
fact families are regularly affected by hygiene-related
health problems and urgently need to improve their
sanitation conditions,” says Cardozo. To meet this
The National Low Income Housing particular need along the path to adequate hous-
Coalition has determined that 95 million ing, Habitat Paraguay has joined forces with other
Americans live in overcrowded or organizations to launch a “Healthy Latrine” project,
severely inadequate conditions, or pay which partners with 46 families in its first phase to
too much for housing. That’s nearly one- construct new bathrooms with sturdy clay bricks,
third of the U.S. population. cement toilets and sheet metal roofs.

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 11

 C L O C K W I SE F R O M R I G H T /// Housing need exists in communities ev-

erywhere, from Australia to Alaska. Outside Anchorage, a woman and her

dog live in a drafty trailer. /// In some communities, those hardest hit by the U.S.
foreclosure crisis, and many abroad, repairing and rehabilitating homes is as vital a
need as new construction. /// In other places, the need can seem more pronounced.
In Manila, Philippines, a young boy walks on top of the garbage-choked Pasig River,
HABITAT SEATTLE

searching for anything of value that he can sell.

United States

UPHILL CLIMB
Christine VanderWerf (left) grew up in Missouri
and ran away from home at 16. Soon after, she
found herself pregnant, alone and without the
support she believed necessary to raise a child.
Making the decision to give the baby up for adop-
tion in part because she could not provide a home,
Christine moved to Alaska.
Once there, she began a relationship, but it
was troubled. The couple moved to Seattle and
had a baby, spending a few years “functioning
somewhat,” she says. But as their son grew,
the marriage fell apart, and, says Christine, her
substance abuse grew as well.
“I experienced some levels of homelessness
and transitional housing, and having no future,”
she says.
Wrapping herself in a blanket of support servic-
es, Christine began the uphill climb to stability. With
plenty of resolve but also a spotty job history and a
record, housing was a particular challenge. A room
in a transitional housing facility, surrounded by
people who encouraged her success, was a turn-
ing point, and she then built confidence living on
her own in a studio apartment. Next came several
years in a Seattle Housing Authority apartment. This
apartment was a definite improvement over home-
lessness, but it was not without its own challenges;
after problems caused by its age and deterioration,
the building was slated for redevelopment.
Steady employment brought a measure of fi-
nancial security, and Christine applied to become a
homeowner with Habitat Seattle/South King Coun-
ty. Nearly two decades of piecemeal, temporary
housing arrangements came to an end this fall.

12 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 EZRA MILLSTEIN

EZRA MILLSTEIN
STEFFAN HACKER

fact

More than 10 million people worldwide die each

year from conditions related to substandard
housing, unsafe water and poor sanitation,
according to a United Nations’ Global Report on
Human Settlement. That’s more than 1,100 each
hour … nearly 20 per minute.
EZRA MILLSTEIN

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 13

 BU I L D

With your help, Habitat’s response

spans a spectrum of solutions.
It’s a volunteer vigorously swinging a hammer, helping to build or
rehabilitate a home. It’s a partner family investing sweat equity by
working onsite or helping to staff a Habitat ReStore outlet.
It’s an advocate supporting the policies and systems and helping to
raise the awareness that will make affordable housing a public priority.
It’s a Habitat Resource Center producing construction materials and
creating employment opportunities. It’s a financial literacy program
helping families craft budgets and savings plans.
It’s people from all walks of life coming together to do their part in
the fight to eliminate substandard housing. It’s fun, it’s meaningful, and

STEFFAN HACKER
it’s happening in your community.
EZRA MILLSTEIN

What Will You Build?

HOMES /// Find your local
affiliate at habitat.org/local
or your campus chapter at
habitatyouthprograms.org/
campuschapters.
CONNECTIONS /// Join a
Global Village team. Learn
about upcoming build
destinations at habitat.org/gv.
KNOWLEDGE /// Subscribe
to Habitat e-newsletters. Sign
up at habitat.org/cd/email/
subscribe.aspx.

14 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G

STEFFAN HACKER
EZRA MILLSTEIN
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT ///
Increasingly, the work of Habitat affiliates
and national programs includes rehabilitations,
such as this Habitat Coastal Fairfield County
project in the historic district of Bridgeport,
Conn. Project manager Frank Bakos installs
windows in the 1890s building which is being
converted into 16 condominiums. /// There are
many ways to partner with Habitat around the
world. Here, 62 students graduate from a Habitat
Haiti construction training program at Regina
Assumpta College. /// And then, there are
traditional new constructions, green shoots of hope
in communities like Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
STEFFAN HACKER
HABITAT OMAHA
United States
KNOWING HOME
Habitat homeowner Ray Montgomery spent
about four months mowing the grass once (and
sometimes twice) a week at the house he would
purchase in Omaha. He spent Saturdays on the
construction site, bolstered by the support of a
close friend who gave up watching much of an
entire season of college football to help with his
sweat equity hours. He took classes to learn about
home equity and volunteered at the Habitat Re-
Store outlet. He bolstered his credit report.
Overall, the financial and educational prepara-
tion Ray went through before closing on his house
positioned him to responsibly manage the biggest
investment he has ever made in his own — and his
almost 2-year-old-daughter’s — futures. “I learned
how to save some money,” he says. “I learned how
to pay attention to my credit. I learned some home
maintenance skills — that was the best.”
Now that he and his daughter are in their
Habitat house, there are more bests to come.“I’m
so satisfied that my daughter knows where to go
for everything that’s hers,” he says. “She knows
where to watch her movies, where her blocks are;
she knows where her binkies are, even though I’m
trying to hide them from her. It puts a smile on my
face to know that she knows she’s safe. She’s in
a place where nothing can harm her unless she’s
being hard-headed. She knows that’s home.”
DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 15
 HABITAT AP
China

‘SOMETHING
FOR EVERYONE’
Henry Ingrouille’s first Habitat experience was as a
2009 Carter Work Project volunteer. Over five days,
the managing director of Morgan Stanley’s opera-
tions division in Hong Kong joined 200 international
and local volunteers to help build the walls of first-
floor housing units in a few multi-story residential
buildings in Qionglai.
His experience in China paved the way for his
next volunteer stint, a Habitat build in the fishing
village of Tai O. “I loved the idea of doing something
a little closer to home to make a difference to a very
special part of our own backyard in Hong Kong,” he
says. In Tai O, Habitat volunteers helped carry out
repair work on stilt houses above the sea, everything
from replacing decking to rebuilding outhouses.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Henry
looks forward to volunteering more. “I love the way
it connects people,” he says. “Personally I prefer
the hands-on, roll-your-sleeves-up-to-work lifting
and shifting, just because it’s so far from what I do
every day. But the beauty of Habitat for Humanity
is that there are so many different things that need
to be done that there’s something for everyone. It
really doesn’t matter what your skillset is. You can
still help out.”

facts

Nearly 77,000 volunteer advocates regularly
receive Habitat news and action alerts
asking them to contact their elected officials
in support of policies that help place families
in safe, decent and affordable homes.
77K Habitat is hard at work in nearly 80
countries around the world, in all 50
states of the United States, the District of
Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Find
your local affiliate at habitat.org/cd/local.

16 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 STEFFAN HACKER
EZRA MILLSTEIN

C L O C K W I SE F R OM A B OV E /// Volunteers are a Habitat cornerstone, joining

partner families to build homes and change communities. Jennifer Blachford

helps to build a new Habitat house in Hanapepe, Hawaii. /// As part of Habitat’s ethic
of reusing and recycling, ReStore outlets accept donated goods — from lumber and ma-
terials to furniture and doorknobs — which are sold to the general public at a discount.
Proceeds help local Habitat affiliates fund construction, and the stores provide volunteer
and sweat equity opportunities. /// Building homes is central to Habitat’s mission, but
there are other pieces to the puzzle as well. Advocacy efforts, which include the annual
Habitat on the Hill, aim to help change the issues that so often surround housing need
and solutions.
STEFFAN HACKER

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 17

 TAHILA MINTZ
Kyrgyzstan

A FINE FINISH
For nearly 39 years, Uralieva Ainagul lived in a
house that had been built by her husband, Juma,
when the young couple had just been starting out
in Barskoon, Kyrgyzstan.
A widow, Uralieva was now sharing the space
with her son Zamir and his family of five. The once-
new house, built without a foundation, was often
damp, making mold and fungus a constant chal-
lenge. A farmer by trade who grows wheat, apples,
apricots and potatoes and keeps sheep and cows,
Zamir decided to demolish the unhealthy house
and build a new, sturdier house on the same spot.
Building as he saved enough money for tasks, he
managed to lay a foundation for the new house and
to build the main walls and roof of the structure.
During this time, the family has crowded togeth-
er in a temporary one-room shelter. “It is not easy,”
wife Astra says. “When relatives or neighbors come
to visit us, there’s no place for our children.”
Not for long. With a loan from Habitat Kyrgyz-
stan — 25,000 soms or approximately US$4,800
EZRA MILLSTEIN

— Zamir has acquired the funds necessary to

complete the house in short order: a finished ceil-
ing, heating and electricity, plastered and painted
walls, windows and doors. There will be plenty of
room for 9-year-old Ilgiz, 3-year-old Ilim and their
6-year-old sister Ilnaz to have their own space.
“Our children ask me often when we will fin-
ish the house, when we will move into our new
house,” he says. “Of course, life will change, es-
pecially for our children. I understand that it is very
TAHILA MINTZ

difficult to live in a one-room house and see how

their friends live. We are very grateful for Habitat’s
help, as it will change our life for the better.”

18 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 C L O C K W I SE F R OM L E F T /// Habitat’s construction techniques and housing solutions take different forms in

different locations around the world. Here, a construction worker welds rebar on a series of multi-story, urban-housing
Habitat units in Qionglai City, China. /// Sri Lankan villagers look over information on the Save and Build concept. In some
communities, small groups save money and build houses in stages. As they save funds for construction, they also collect and
make building materials. /// Habitat Charlotte (N.C.) AmeriCorps member Thomas Heaslip works on a rehab project as part
of the 2010 Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps Build-a-Thon. During the annual event, hundreds of AmeriCorps National
Direct and VISTA members gather to build. /// International School of Brussels student Sabina Curtis volunteers on a build in
Hajduboszormeny, Hungary.

STEFFAN HACKER
United States
STEFFAN HACKER

MIKEL FLAMM
‘HERE TO HELP’
Eighteen-year-old Sami Wallace (center) initially
became introduced to Habitat at a Global Village
Youth Leadership Conference in Chicago in 2009.
Throughout her senior year of high school in North
Carolina, she helped landscape Habitat houses,
traveled to Raleigh to advocate for affordable
housing and helped put together an advocacy day
at her school.
“I became really passionate about affordable
housing,” she says. “I love going on trips far away,
and I saw [the Learn and Build trip] on an email. I
thought, ‘Hmmm … 15 people I don’t know, a week
in a place I’ve never been — I think I could do that.’”
The Learn and Build trips are one-week service
opportunities for students to meet new people,
gain experience on a build site and participate in
educational activities geared toward learning more
about housing issues. “It was really weird for 15
people to get along that well,” Wallace says. “But
we saw a home dedication, and it was like, ‘This is
what we all want.’ We’re just here to help people.”
Wallace began her studies at Milwaukee
School of Engineering this past fall in architectural
design and construction management. Wallace
has already speculated that designing a green
Habitat house would make a worthwhile senior
project. After her experience volunteering, she
is confident that learning the skills to accomplish
the task is mostly a matter of time and dedication.
STEFFAN HACKER

“We all came away with skills we didn’t expect to

have,” she says. “I don’t think anyone would look
at me and say, ‘That girl can side a house.’”

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 19

 BU I L D

Your support and involvement

help make a dramatic difference.
It’s stronger families, freed from the worry and want of unacceptable living conditions.
It’s a better place to study, a healthier spot to sleep, enough room to grow and dream.
It’s better communities, neighbors helping neighbors, new lights shining in windows
once darkened by blight. It’s a street reclaimed from abandonment or floodwaters, a
block rebuilt after an earthquake or an economic tremor. It’s a house built in joy and
dedicated with love.
It’s a world of hope where everyone has a simple, decent place to live.
It’s waiting for you to get involved.

What Will You Build?

COMMUNITY /// Join
the online conversation
and connect with Habitat
supporters around the world.
Find links to Habitat’s social
media sites at habitat.org/
getinv/socialmedia.aspx.
RENEWAL /// Keep up to
date on Habitat’s successes in
disaster-affected communities
through habitat.org/disaster.
OPPORTUNITY /// Make
sure more families have
a chance for the positive
change that comes with
owning a simple, decent
house. Give today at
habitat.org/hwdonate.

20 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 ASHLEY BEIREIS
United States

SEEING A DIFFERENCE
EZRA MILLSTEIN

MIKEL FLAMM
Betty Monroy was working three jobs to afford the
rent in Downey, Calif.. She was determined to stay in
the Los Angeles County city so that two of her chil-
dren, diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, could re-
main in a school with a highly rated special education
program. But even with her multiple jobs, the housing
she could afford suffered from termites and mold.
Then she partnered with Habitat Greater Los
Angeles. And as the mother of three began to help
build her Habitat home, she saw more than a house
grow before her eyes.
“When we were building the house, my oldest
son was the only one old enough to build,” she
says. “He’s the one that has the most problems
STEFFAN HACKER

with social skills, and when we first started com-

ing, there were all these volunteers. They all
wanted to say hi to him, and that was like torture.
He would just avoid the volunteers at all costs.
C L O C K W I SE F R OM B O T T OM L E F T /// Habitat’s creation of
“As time went by and he started getting invest-
stronger communities can be seen in Chiang Mai, Thailand, ed in it, he changed and started accepting people
one of five 2009 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project sites. talking to him. Not only that, but he would guide
Eighty-two families have settled into their homes in Nong Kon Kru them on tours of the house and show off the things
village. Some have planted trees and vegetables gardens. Others have he’d been building. Toward the end, he was very
built additional rooms. Outside, neighbor children play games in talkative and very proud of his house. He’s really
front of their Habitat houses. /// In Gunsan, South Korea, Habitat come out of his shell quite a bit.
home partners, the Moon family, stand in the courtyard outside their “Whenever there’s an opportunity to build, I
apartment building. /// In many instances, Habitat houses provide try to take him,” she continues. “He understands
more than simply shelter. CWP homeowner Wanida Sotkrang has set about paying it forward, and he enjoys it, and he
up a new sewing business in her house in Chiang Mai. /// Souhail goes and builds.”
Said’s home was destroyed during fighting in Magdal Zoon, Lebanon. Betty’s Habitat house is built to gold-level LEED
She and her daughter Zeinab have been able to rebuild their home standards for energy efficiency. The savings mean
— and their lives — through Habitat Lebanon’s small loans program she can once again afford to offer her kids fresh
and with the organization’s technical assistance. fruits and vegetables, a luxury she had foregone in
the old house.
“Every day is a blessing, and every day we
MIKEL FLAMM

thank God, thanks to Habitat,” she says. “It’s an

amazing thing.”

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 21

 TAHILA MINTZ

Ethiopia

OPENING DOORS
Liben Tilahun, his wife Belaynesh Yesuf and four

EZRA MILLSTEIN
of their children once inhabited a shelter made of
plastic sheeting in a cemetery on the outskirts of
town. The couple lived as so many of those affected
by leprosy do — on the sideline of society, cured
but culturally shunned, surviving on a meager in-
come from begging and discarded food.
“Although I will turn 62 soon, I sometimes think
that it is only my fifth birthday that I am celebrat-
ing,” says Liben, smiling. “We moved into this
Habitat home five years ago, and I really believe
we only started truly living then.”
In Karagutu, Dessie, where Liben and family
now live, Habitat has built a community where
ex-leprosy patients and other Ethiopians live as
facts
neighbors, their children attending school together.
Local municipal authorities granted Habitat the
Every 8 minutes around the world,
land to build and provide services to the com-
a Habitat partner family moves into
munity, enhancing Habitat’s efforts to help lift the
decent shelter they can afford.
societal stigma.
Since moving into their Habitat house, the family
has been healthier, leaving behind nagging respira-
tory ailments. They’ve received mosquito nets from
Habitat and its partners to help protect their health,
and the family’s proof of residence in the community
entitles them to treatment at the local clinic.
Liben now works as a guard at the Dessie
Habitat affiliate, grows crops and rears sheep.
He dreams of a better future for his children and A study by Emory University
grandchildren — and so do they. Eighteen-year-old found that children younger
son Abdu goes to the school nearby and says he than 5 who were living in
wants to one day become a doctor. Habitat homes in Malawi
For the family, the house has given them a were 44 percent less likely to
chance to rejoin the community that once was contract respiratory problems,
closed to them. Liben’s neighbors have even given gastrointestinal diseases or
him a signifier of respect: they call him Aba Shehu, a malaria than their counterparts
nickname that means he is seen as a natural leader. living in traditional housing.

22 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 C L O C K W I SE F R O M T O P L E F T /// Less-crowded homes and more stability can help young stu-

dents fulfill their potential. Five year-old Laila Martin does her homework in the living room of her
Habitat home in New Orleans. /// In Habitat Santa Fe’s Casas del Corazon neighborhood, 9-year-old Yad-
eni Molinar sits in front of her family’s Habitat house. /// Habitat’s response to disasters can help families
move forward. Zaitunbi Mardonova stands on the porch of her house in Shulonak, Tajikistan. The house
was damaged by a 2008 earthquake, but is now being reinforced against earthquakes thanks to a microloan
STEFFAN HACKER

through Habitat Tajikistan.

EZRA MILLSTEIN

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 23

 CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT / / / In some
communities, Habitat improvements include the
introduction of access to clean water. A young boy uses
a water pump installed by Habitat Tajikistan. /// In all
communities, Habitat improvements include a renewed
sense of security — and hope for a brighter future. Habitat
homeowner Sharon Stiger lives in Diamondhead, Miss. “It’s
definitely nice to be able to say, ‘I’m going home’ and have a
home to go to,” she says. /// In Huite, Guatemala, 3-year-
old Alison Teresa stands in the living room of her family’s
nearly completed home, as they begin a life anchored by the
stability of affordable housing.
EZRA MILLSTEIN

EZRA MILLSTEIN
fact

In decent housing, walls are strong

(fig. 1) and roofs are secure (fig. 2)—
and the families inside focus more
on thriving than surviving (fig. 3).

fig. 2

fig. 1 fig. 3
EZRA MILLSTEIN

24 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
FieldNotes
Habitat World is also published online at
HABITAT.ORG/HW
with additional coverage of Habitat’s work.

Perspectives from around Habitat’s world

AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT

Renewing Newburgh
A Habitat affiliate in New York’s Hudson Valley highlights its work with a well-received
concert headlined by the legendary Pete Seeger. B Y S H A L A C A R L S O N , P H O T O S B Y H I L A R Y D U F F Y

o n a hot Saturday afternoon, the sun sparkles on the

Hudson River. Across the ever-changing expanse of
water and light, forested hills climb from the riverbank
then roll up to the sparsely clouded sky. Here and there,
rooftops and a tall steeple peek above the trees, creating
the dim outline of a neighboring town. —Continued on page 26

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 25

FieldNotes
Perspectives from around Habitat’s world
—Continued from page 25
Facing this view, quartered in a sturdy
house of gray fieldstone, General George
Washington rallied his troops during the
last years of the American Revolutionary
War. On this day in the summer of 2010,
a different kind of national hero is here to
inspire a different sort of troop. Folk icon
and area resident Pete Seeger — along
with a slate of performers that includes
his grandson Tao and various musician
friends of theirs — is headlining “If I Had
a Hammer: Concert for a House,” an after-
noon performance benefiting Habitat for
Humanity Greater Newburgh.
From this spot, first settled in the 1700s,
Washington and his men ultimately pre-
vailed in their fight. Today, with all that
history in between, the same sun shines on
the idea that, with leadership and support,
a modern-day infantry of a different order
can advance the cause of affordable housing
and community revitalization.
Nearly 1,300 Habitat supporters, vol-
unteers and Seeger fans sit on the sloping
lawn of Washington’s Headquarters, singing
along to familiar favorites and celebrating
all that Habitat Greater Newburgh has ac-
complished against significant odds. But
the day is also a call to action, a reminder of
just how much work remains to be done in
this struggling but committed community.
I
n 1952, Look magazine named New-
burgh, N.Y., an “all-American city.” To-
day, Newburgh is an all-too-American
story — a factory town without factories, its
staggering unemployment rate and high-
school dropout rate jockeying for numerical
primacy. The two census tracts that make up
the city’s east end were ranked in the 2000
census as the fourth most distressed urban
area in the United States. As businesses and
residents have relocated elsewhere through
the years, troubles have moved in. For a
town whose population falls just under
30,000, this city 60 miles north of Manhattan
must stubbornly weather a storm of surpris-
26 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
“NOW WE HAVE THIS
WONDERFUL NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT’S BEEN A TOTAL CHANGE.”
— DEIRDRE GLENN, OUTGOING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ing challenges: an active drug trade, the pres-
ence of national gangs, streets of boarded-up
or burned-out buildings and houses.
From the midst of this blight, over-
crowding and atrophy, Habitat Greater
Newburgh has begun slowly and steadily
reclaiming territory, using an approach that
aims to lift up whole streets and sections
of town. The affiliate began in 1999 by ac-
quiring and renovating three houses. It has
proceeded to do the same with dozens of
decaying and abandoned structures, reha-
bilitating them when they are structurally
sound and, when they are not salvageable,
demolishing them and replacing them with
new construction. Areas of activity are clus-
tered together, as bright new Habitat row-
houses and single-family structures spark a
sense of renewal, an undeniable feeling that
— with enough financial and moral support
— Newburgh can revitalize.
Outgoing executive director Deirdre
Glenn grew up here. Her path wound
through Pittsburgh and Dublin, Ireland,
before eventually returning her to a very
changed town. In 1999, coming home to
stay, she no longer recognized the streets
where she had ridden her bike as a young
girl. “This neighborhood was so depressing
and, at times, even frightening,” she recalls.
“The house next door had so many people
Habitat World is also published online at
HABITAT.ORG/HW
with additional coverage of Habitat’s work.
living in it, you didn’t know who they were.
The house on the corner, the beautiful blue
house on the corner, was abandoned, not
properly boarded up. Kids were breaking in,
doing drugs. Mattresses piled up all through
the house and so on.”
Then, one morning, Glenn noticed a
different kind of activity. “Early each Sat-
urday morning, numbers of people arrived
in the neighborhood and set to work on a
few houses,” she says. Curious, she wan-
dered over and discovered Habitat Greater
Newburgh.“I got very involved as a vol-
unteer. You couldn’t help but get involved.
Because people were doing something, and
it felt good to be doing something.” Two
Habitat houses were built in short order, on
opposite corners of the same block.
And then a minor miracle began to fill
the spaces in between — young couples
looking to own began buying houses on the
block and redoing them, finding encourage-
ment in the efforts of the Habitat volunteers.
One couple, Glenn recalls, fell through the
floor of the house they were considering
buying. But just next door, Habitat volun-
teers were hard at work and seeing their suc-
cesses convinced the couple to take a chance.
House by house, things began to get better.
—Continued on page 28
 PETE SEEGER BUILDS A HOUSE
Folk icon Pete Seeger performs at Habitat Greater Newburgh’s
July benefit concert, which raised much needed funds and
awareness for the affiliate’s efforts.

ON JULY 4, musician and activist Pete Seeger lifted his voice

in support of Habitat’s efforts right in his own backyard. “If I Had a
Hammer: Concert for a House” was held just across the Hudson
River from Seeger’s homestead in Beacon, N.Y, a wooded spot
where Seeger and his wife Toshi built their own house all on their
own more than 30 years ago.
Asked why he decided to undertake the construction project,
when he admittedly had enthusiasm but little building experience, he
replies with trademark simplicity: “Didn’t have any money.”
Seeger started in the only place that made sense to him. “The
main thing I learned is there’s a thing called a library,” he says. “I
went down to the New York Public Library, looked up L-O-G C-A-B-
I-N, and it saved me from making some very bad mistakes.”
Following the instructions he gleaned from the books he found,
Seeger and Toshi — “she really was a complete hero,” he says — did
the lion’s share of the building themselves, benefiting from a reuse-
recycle ethic and the generous expertise of others in a way that will
sound very familiar to Habitat stalwarts.
For example, the couple was moving from New York City’s
Greenwich Village, and Seeger spied a house demolition taking
place across the street from their old residence. “The windows
and doors were just sitting on the sidewalk for anybody to take
who wanted them,” he recalls. “We had a Jeep station wagon,

“YOU’D BE SURPRISED and I tied them on the roof. So I got the windows and doors for
our cabin.”
And when it came time to begin construction, Seeger says, “we

HOW MUCH YOU CAN DO didn’t know how to use trowels. We were using pancake turners.
We had a neighbor who was a mason, showed us how to mix
cement and what kind of cement.”

WITH JUST A LITTLE.” The Seegers eventually finished the cabin and have lived
comfortably there with their growing family for many years. It’s an
experience he remembers fondly, a memory that fuels his ongoing
interest in Habitat as “an idea that grew into a movement.” The
biggest lesson learned from his own construction experience?
“You’d be surprised how much you can do with just a little.”

DECEMBER 2010 HA B I TAT. O R G 27

FieldNotes
Perspectives from around Habitat’s world
—Continued from page 26
“Now we have this wonderful neighbor-
hood,” Glenn says. “It’s been a total change.”
H
abitat homeowner Pedro Cruz has
seen the same kind of change over
on Hasbrouck Street as well. He is
one of two Habitat partner families on the
street and says the difference is already be-
ginning to show. The new Habitat construc-
tion has replaced a building that was falling
apart, and the same seeds of change from
Glenn’s neighborhood are taking root here.
“The street is improving,” he says. “You see a
lot of people now that are putting up siding,
doing something to their houses. That’s one
way to put a good neighborhood together.”
The change has been no less significant
for his family. Cruz, his wife Juana and their
five children lived in a small apartment until
this past summer when their Habitat house
was completed. In the apartment, Cruz’s
three daughters and two sons — from
9 months to age 13 — would sleep together
in one room. In the new house, there’s room
to grow. “The girl in the middle, she was
kinda scared in the beginning,” he says.
28 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
“Now that she has her own room, she has a
lot of space for herself, but it’s scary.”
When the family first moved in, before
they had beds in place, Cruz would carefully
tuck her in for the night in the middle of
the room. “The next morning,” he laughs,
“I would find her always in the corner. She’s
got all kinds of space, but she was used to
crowding into the room, and so she always
likes to sleep in one corner. But she’s getting
used to it.
“It’s a big change for us,” he adds. “But it’s
something you have, and nobody is going to
take it. There’s a joy in that, that you have in
your heart.”
Cruz, who works at a local concrete
plant, continues to regularly volunteer on
Habitat projects and helped on the day of
the Seeger concert. He volunteers, he says,
because there aren’t enough words to say
thank you for the house he helped build and
the community he’s helping to change. “Too
much has been done. It’s the least I can do.”
T
he Newburgh affiliate has plans to
do even more, adding to its roster
of 43 houses built or rehabilitated
and the nearly $8.3 million they have added
Habitat Greater Newburgh seeks to acquire
abandoned, deteriorating properties like the
ones below. The affiliate either demolishes
them and builds new houses in their place or
rehabilitates them, turning them into sturdy
and affordable housing.
to local tax rolls. The affiliate currently has
10 projects under way. Just on the same
street as the Habitat office — a lovingly re-
stored 1850s building itself — staffers point
to at least three properties they would love
to acquire: a burned-out shell of a house
sitting next to a historic church, a dilapi-
dated and abandoned wooden structure
that’s collapsing in on itself, and a short run
of rowhouses that are boarded up but still
appear partially inhabited. And there are so
many more in this historic town.
As Glenn retires and a new executive
director takes the helm this year, Habitat
Greater Newburgh enjoys a devoted volun-
teer base and steady partnerships with area
churches, local unions, and regional and
local development and government groups.
A popular ReStore contributes significantly
to the affiliate’s coffers. But it’s impossible to
walk the streets here and not be struck by
how much more there is to do. According
to current city data, nearly 1,800 Newburgh
families are eligible to apply for a Habitat
house. As part of its answer to all of this,
Habitat Greater Newburgh is participating
in the initial phase of Habitat for Humanity
International’s Neighborhood Revitalization
 Habitat World is also published online at
HABITAT.ORG/HW

Build More.
with additional coverage of Habitat’s work.

HABITAT
GREATER
NEWBURGH AIMS
TO LIFT UP WHOLE
SECTIONS OF TOWN. Habitat for Humanity’s
Initiative, an effort focused on improving housing conditions while matching gift program
multiplies your impact.
partnering with other community organizations to provide services
to enhance the quality of life across struggling neighborhoods.
Another part of Habitat Greater Newburgh’s answer is the
Seeger-headlined Concert for a House. The show is a success,
Many companies are willing to match
raising more than $30,000. But perhaps its biggest triumph is the
attention and goodwill it generates in the community. Volunteers, your charitable gift. Talk to your
partner families and local residents sit side by side, singing songs employer today to see if you can double
and enjoying what is fundamentally one extended family picnic.
your support of our mission and help
These city blocks have seen more than their fair share of abandon-
ment, but not today. “Today,” one supporter tells Glenn, “Habitat us build more. More walls, more rooms,
repopulated downtown Newburgh.” more hope.

I
t’s a July holiday weekend so the day after the benefit concert,
Glenn and her neighbors on Bay View Terrace host a porch Just a quick conversation could make a
party. A young boy navigates the sidewalk on a tricycle, his sis- huge difference in the lives of families
ter patiently pushing him along. People move from house to house,
in need of housing. What will you build?
greeting friends like family and visitors like honored guests.
Tonight, the residents of this neighborhood that almost was
no more will crowd together on brick steps and roomy verandas
and the green lawns that stretch down toward the river and watch
as fire lights the sky. It’s a fire that Habitat helps keep alive in this
Hudson Valley town.

To watch a video about the ongoing work

in Newburgh, find Habitat Greater Newburgh
on Facebook. To view an audio slideshow of the For more information, visit
Concert for a House, visit www.habitat.org/hw. habitat.org/matching
FieldNotes
Habitat World is also published online at
HABITAT.ORG/HW
with additional coverage of Habitat’s work.

Perspectives from around Habitat’s world

If I Had a Hammer Now in Paperback

New content added to stories of Habitat’s work

H
 
abitat World first shared the news of author David Rubel’s compelling
book If I Had a Hammer: Stories of Building Homes and Hope with Habitat
for Humanity in our September 2009 issue. Written with young readers in
mind, the book shares inspiring stories of Habitat homeowners around the world as
well as those of the volunteers who build alongside them.
This summer, Candlewick Press published a paperback edition of If I Had a
Hammer, now available through booksellers and the online store of habitat.org. An
additional chapter offers an account of the building of a neighborhood in Thailand
during the 2009 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. The new stories join pre-
vious tales of Habitat’s work over a quarter-century, all illustrated with color photos
and introduced by a foreword written by one of Habitat’s most devoted volunteers,
former U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
For more information, visit habitat.org/partnerships/media_entertainment/
hammer.aspx.

KEEP HABITAT WITH YOU ALL YEAR

If you’ve enjoyed the range of photos in this special-year end
issue of Habitat World, be sure to visit our online store and
purchase an official 2011 Habitat for Humanity wall calendar.
Filled with photos and stories from around Habitat’s world,
the calendar is a great reminder of the real change that your
support makes possible, an excellent way to share with others
what Habitat means to you — and one of many ways to show
your support of Habitat all year long. Each month includes a
special link to online content where you can learn more about
Habitat’s work — and what you can do to help build houses and
hope every day
To order your calendar, visit the online store at habitat.org or
call 800-422-5914 today.

30 HA B I TAT WO R L D HA B I TAT. O R G
 Building in partnership
with a local family warms the heart —
and a Habitat for Humanity sweatshirt can
warm the rest of you, too.

SHOP ONLINE
OR CALL OUR STORE
HA B I TAT. OR G • 8 0 0 - 4 2 2 - 5 9 1 4
121 Habitat Street, Americus, GA 31709-3498
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HABITAT FOR
HUMANITY
INTERNATIONAL

GIVE A GIFT OF HELP AND HOPE.

You can send Gifts from the Heart in several ways:
Donate securely online at www.habitat.org/hw/gfth
Call toll-free at (800) HABITAT
Complete the gift form and fax it to: (229) 410-7465
Complete the gift form and mail it to:
Gifts from the Heart Recognize the special people in your life In order to have your beautiful Gifts
Habitat for Humanity International in an especially meaningful way. Make from the Heart card mailed by Dec. 17,
121 Habitat Street we must receive your:
Americus, GA 31709 donations in their names through Habitat
To: (Honoree Information – Card Recipient) for Humanity’s Gifts from the Heart program. » online donation at habitat.org/hw/gfth
(Enclose another sheet with additional names if necessary)
by Dec. 14
Name __________________________________________ Show how much you care. Habitat provides » mail-in donation or faxed form with
Address ________________________________________ help and hope to families in need of decent credit-card donation by Dec. 8
City ___________________________________________ and affordable shelter. Your Gifts from the
State __________________________ ZIP ____________ Heart donation will help build a home — a Gifts from the Heart qualify as tax-deductible
From: (Donor Information) gift that will keep giving for years to come. contributions. A minimum of $10 is required for each card.

Name _________________________________________
Address _______________________________________
City __________________________________________

State __________________________ ZIP ____________

Phone Number ___________________________________

E-mail _________________________________________

Gift Type: (Please select one)

T In honor of
 T Holiday T Birthday T Anniversary T Wedding

T In memory of________________________________________
(Decedent’s name)
T Other______________________________________________

Payment Options:
Enclosed is my check for $_________
(Please make check payable to Habitat for Humanity International.)

Please charge my gift of $_________

 T MasterCard T Visa
T American Express T Discover

Acct. No. _______________________________________

Exp. Date _______________________________________

Signature _______________________________________
Under the direction of the Board of Directors, HFHI retains complete control over
the use and distribution of donated funds in furtherance of its mission.
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INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
121 Habitat Street
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