Providing financial education to secure and maintain a home
Mario Moran
Project Manager, Financial Literacy, Latin America & the Caribbean, Habitat for Humanity International
In Latin America and the Caribbean, affordable homes are often out of reach for most in the poorest of communities. However, Habitat for Humanity International, through its diligent fund-raising, a viable sweat-equity model, and a keen financial educational program, is helping change this, one house at a time.
Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need and has built more than 225,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.
The concept that grew into Habitat for Humanity International was born at Koinonia Farm, a small, interracial, Christian farming community founded in 1942 outside of Americus, Georgia, by farmer and biblical scholar Clarence Jordan. At 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, Millard and Linda 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 idea behind this was the concept that the houses would be built with no profit added and no interest charged. Building would be financed by a revolving “Fund for Humanity” and 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.
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.
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