Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization that sends volunteers around the world to help low-income people build homes. It has built over 225,000 homes for more than a million people. The organization does not give away homes for free, but new owners pay for their homes, and homeowners help build their homes. The organization welcomes people of all faiths to volunteer and does not discriminate against home applications based on religious affiliation. Donations are the primary source of land, materials, and labor.
Habitat for Humanity is an international Christian service organization that sends volunteers of all faiths around the world to help low-income people build homes. The organization works in tandem with local groups to organize volunteers and identify people in need of a home, and has built more than 225,000 homes in 2006 for more than a million people. The services it provides are vital to people in nations around the world, ranging from America to Zaire, and volunteers often cite working with the group as a life-changing experience.
The organization was founded in 1976 by Linda and Millard Fuller, who gave up high-paying jobs to devote themselves to Christian service. They saw the need for low-income housing that empowered the people who lived in it and started in the southern United States before traveling to Africa to build homes. Support for the organization continues to grow, championed by former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife, who lead the Jimmy Carter Work Project each year. During the project, volunteers, including the president and his wife, build 100 homes in a week in locations ranging from India to Brooklyn.
A common misconception about Habitat for Humanity is that the organization gives away homes. The group doesn’t believe that giving free homes empowers people, and new owners pay for their homes, even if the price is significantly reduced. Additionally, homeowners help build their homes, in tandem with volunteers. The combined investment of money and labor in the house gives the owner a sense of pride and accomplishment, it is suggested, that would not have been achieved if the house had simply been donated. The monthly mortgage payments are used to finance projects in other parts of the world, so, in a sense, homeowners contribute to the organization by simply living and using their new homes.
While Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization, it welcomes people of all faiths to volunteer to build homes and does not discriminate against home applications based on religious affiliation. The homeowners and volunteers work in an environment that encourages mutual respect and courtesy, and the experience is often said to be educational and enlightening for all parties. The organization also values traditional cultural values and builds modest and comfortable houses in line with the cultural norms of the homeowner. It is also committed to environmentally sustainable living and building practices and works to encourage sustainability in the communities where it is active.
Donations are the primary source of land, materials and labor. These donations are often coordinated by local organizations, which help organize volunteers and material donations. When a community organization affiliated with the larger group identifies people in need, they contact the parent organization, which provides further assistance with organization, grants, and experienced volunteers. People interested in volunteering can contact a local chapter.
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