Chipping away at poverty housing a day at a time

Sarath Tikiribandara is just one of thousands of Sri Lankans who now live the dream of having a sound, stable roof over his head.

Sarath, his wife and three children once shared a deteriorating mud hut as their home. It was all he could afford ten years ago when his father and three brothers helped him make it. Their work took a month to complete.

He dreamed about building a new home for his family every day. He even invested in a foundation and began making bricks on his own. Still, it seemed unlikely he’d finish his project until he met the treasurer of a Habitat for Humanity savings group and learned about the partnership method called Save & Build.

He went to the Habitat office to find out how he could have a house, too. Others had the same idea. “I didn’t know the other members of the group before, but we all wanted a house,” Sarath said.

Sri Lanka, where the cost to sponsor a home is $1,600, is the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity’s Save & Build program.

Since 2000, Sri Lankan savings groups have constructed more than 1,300 houses, and plans call for these groups to build more than 2,000 homes by the end of 2004. Dozens of other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America are following their lead.

Save & Build focuses on a “savings” model rather than a “credit” model, which empowers communities of people with very low incomes to work together to build their homes.

Sarath and fellow group members saved 20 rupees a day, 20 cents a day in the United States. At their monthly meeting they learned more about the savings program and about construction. They talked about their progress in saving money and materials and planned their upcoming build. Each member turned over his or her payment, and the treasurer reported on how their savings was growing.

They also collected building materials, digging sand from the irrigation ditches and making bricks. “The clay and the water are here; we can make 250 bricks a day,” Sarath said confidently.

After six months of saving, the group had more than 40,000 rupees and asked HFH Anuradhapura to match it with Habitat’s donated funds. Matching funds come from the More Than Houses campaign, which includes donations from planned gifts such as wills and charitable gift annuities.

Once the match had been made, the group started building small “core” houses for three families. Sarath’s was selected by the group to be one of the first.

Today, Sarath and his family have a decent shelter to call home, and the mud hut is a distant memory.

Sri Lankan villagers study information about starting a Save & Build group. Savings groups in Sri Lanka, the birthplace of Habitat for Humanity’s Save & Build program, have built more than 1,300 houses since 2000.

Sri Lankan farmer Sarath Tikiribandara, center, long dreamed of building a simple, decent home for his family. He now lives his dream after building a home through Habitat for Humanity’s Save & Build program.

How it Works:

• Ten to 12 families band together to form a savings group. The groups are self-governing. They choose their own leadership and officers, and they manage themselves, which reduces the administrative burden on Habitat affiliates.

• Each family saves about 15-20 cents a day for six months. While saving, they collect building materials such as sand for bricks and wood for door frames to cut the cost of construction.

• After saving for six months, the group has enough money to build one house. Habitat for Humanity provides funds to build two more houses. Matching funds come from the More Than Houses campaign, which includes contributions through planned giving such as wills and charitable gift annuities. Planned giving donors can designate how their contributions are spent.

• The group provides the basic labor for construction as part of their “sweat equity” while Habitat funding pays for skilled labor. The houses are very basic, consisting of one or two rooms, although the plan allows for expansion after the initial building cycle.

• Families move into their homes and continue to make payments to the savings group until the group has paid off the match from Habitat for Humanity. Groups typically pay off the match in three to five years. The financial burden on families never increases because their payments remain the same throughout the process.

• The group continues to save money and build another set of houses every six months. In 24 months, all of the families live in small, core houses and continue to pay off their loans.