Habitat for Humanity
A few weeks ago I spent 3 days working with Habitat for Humanity in Portland helping to build a set of homes. I spent my time working side by side with some of the people who are going to move into those particular homes. It was a great and rewarding experience to know that my hard work, sunburn and blisters are helping to give a family a better place to live that they can afford. We spent most of our time constructing the exterior second floor walls. This opportunity gave me time to reflect on what the walls of a home really mean to someone. How are these walls going to help them be in a better place in their life? Throughout this project I find myself constantly asking myself what does having a home mean. And how does it affect us as people to not have one? I have spent my whole project so far looking into the lives of people who don’t have homes and it was a nice change to actually feel like my work was doing some good.
The duplex that I spent most of my time working on
Future homeowner working on a neighbors house.
Raising the walls
- Me at the end of my three days of work.
For more Habitat for Humanity information please go to their website at http://www.habitat.org/
Habitat is an organization who is trying to fight the global housing crisis. They believe in Decent, stable housing provides more than just a roof over someone’s head, it is…
- Stability for families and children.
- Sense of dignity and pride.
- Health, physical safety and security.
- Increase of educational and job prospects.
The transformational ability of good housing
- Clean, warm housing is essential for prevention and care of diseases of poverty like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diarrhea, and malaria.5
- Children under 5 in Malawi living in Habitat for Humanity houses have 44 percent less malaria, respiratory or gastrointestinal diseases compared to children living in traditional houses.
Housing must become a priority
- The percentage of people without access to decent, stable housing is rising.
- Increasing the housing supply across the globe is essential.
- Adequate housing is vitally important to the health of the world’s economies, communities and populations.
- If we are to succeed in the fight against poverty, we must support the expansion of housing both as policy and as practice.