Habitat for Humanity

How Habitat Began

SINCE ITS founding in 1976 by Millard Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International has become a world leader in addressing the issues of poverty housing.

Koinonia Farm and the Fund for Humanity

 
The concept that grew into Habitat for Humanity was born in the USA at Koinonia Farm, a small, interracial, Christian farming community. Koinonia Farm was founded in 1942 outside of Americus, Georgia, by farmer and biblical scholar Clarence Jordan and others to promote racial reconciliation.

Millard and his wife Linda first visited Koinonia in 1965, having recently left a successful business in Montgomery, Alabama, and all the trappings of an affluent lifestyle to begin a new life of Christian service. At Koinonia, Jordan and Fuller developed the concept of "partnership housing" where those in need of adequate shelter would work side by side with volunteers to build simple, decent houses.

The houses would be built with no profit added and no interest charged. Building would be financed by a revolving “Fund for Humanity”. The fund's money would come from the new homeowners' house payments, donations and no-interest loans provided by supporters and money earned by fund-raising activities. The monies in the Fund for Humanity would be used to build more houses.

An open letter to the friends of Koinonia Farm told of the new future for Koinonia:

“What the poor need is not charity, but capital, not caseworkers but co-workers. And what the rich need is a wise, honorable and just way of divesting themselves of their overabundance. The Fund for Humanity will meet both of these needs. Money for the fund will come from shared gifts by those who feel they have more than they need and from non-interest bearing loans from those who cannot afford to make a gift but who do want to provide working capital for the disinherited. . . The fund will give away no money. It is not a handout.”

In 1968, Koinonia laid out 42 half-acre house sites with four acres reserved as a community park and recreational area. Capital was donated from around the country to start the work. Homes were built and sold to families in need at no profit and no interest. The basic model of Habitat for Humanity was begun.

A Test In Zaire

In September 1976, Millard and Linda called together a group of supporters to discuss the future of their dream. Habitat for Humanity International as an organization was born at this meeting. The eight years that followed, vividly described in Millard Fuller's book, Love in the Mortar Joints, proved that the vision of a housing ministry was workable. Faith, hard work and direction set Habitat for Humanity on its successful course.

Phenomenal Growth

In 1984, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former US president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn took their first Habitat work trip, the Jimmy Carter Work Project, to New York City. Their personal involvement in Habitat's ministry brought the organization national visibility and sparked interest in Habitat's work across the nation. Habitat for Humanity experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new affiliates around the country.

The Results

Through the work of Habitat, thousands of low-income families have found new hope in the form of affordable housing. Churches, community groups and others have joined together to successfully tackle a significant social problem -- decent housing for all.

Today, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 220,000 houses, sheltering more than one million people in more than three thousand communities in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

 

--Taken With permission from Habitat for Humanity Int'l (www.habtitat.org)

About HFH-China

Habitat for Humanity International began operating work projects in the People's Republic of China in 2002. We work with people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build homes and raise awareness of the critical need for affordable housing.

HFHI China is active in southwestern China where the need for decent shelter is profound. We operate through a project office—a locally-run voluntary group that co-ordinates all aspects of Habitat home building in its area--in Yunnan Province.

In 2004, new offices were initiated in neighboring Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The former, based in the provincial capital Nanning, develops work projects throughout rural communities in Guangxi. Electricity is common, even in some remote villages where HFHI and its volunteers provide community service. The Guangdong Project Office has been established in Guangzhou to serve families in disadvantaged areas. These project offices have forged strategic partnerships with other NGOs and aid organizations, local governments, corporations and the international communities in China. The Habitat houses currently being built are helping families overcome the challenge of poverty housing, especially in typical Chinese farming villages in ethnic and geographically diverse areas where our organization strives to recognize decent housing as a practical option for homeowner partners across southern China.

In December 2003, Habitat for Humanity International China launched its first "1,000 Houses Campaign". The campaign invited pledges from corporations, churches, schools and individual supporters to raise enough funds to enable 1,000 families to have a place which they can call home.

 

--Taken from Habitat for Humanity China (www.habitatchina.org)

About HFH-ISB Chapter

Started by ISB students nearly five years ago, HFH is the fastest growing and the largest organization of its kind in the International School of Beijing with over 50 members. Our fundraising committee has raised a total of 120,000 RMB just over the past year from donations and activities. We also host up to three building trips a year for ISB students to participate in. He/She is given the great chance of travelling to rural China to assist with the actual building of our projects and experience it first-hand. Our extensive resources allow us to be present at almost all community activities involving ISB including rugby games, school plays and musicals, and of course the Spring Fair. Please do not hesistate to approach our booth to make a donation or purchase some of our exclusive items: T-shirts, postcards, and wristbands.