Field Notes
With the addition of 11 new affiliates in October and November 1999, Habitat for Humanity International has 1,524 affiliates in the United States (including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and is also represented in 63 other countries. In addition, there are 576 campus chapters around the world.


NORTHEAST

(Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont): Lisa Reitz, 200 S. Church St., West Chester, PA 19382, (800) 434-5463.

A group of students in grades 3, 4 and 5 at the Esten School in Braintree, Mass., created a 7-by-9 red-, white- and blue-squared afghan during an after-school knitting club and presented it to a South Shore HFH homeowner family last school year. The knitting club is part of the school's "Stop, Look and Listen" program, designed to help students develop self-esteem, learn conflict resolution skills, and promote fundamental values through community service.

Bonim Beyachad, a coalition of five Jewish synagogues in Bridgeport, Conn., sponsored and built an HFH of Greater Bridgeport house with a single mother and her two children last summer and fall. Temple Israel, The Conservative Synagogue, Congregation Beth El, B'nai Israel and Congregation Rodeph Shalom came together to construct the house.

New affiliates -- HFH of Seneca County, Seneca Falls, N.Y.; HFH of Greater Newburgh, Newburgh, N.Y.; Juniata County HFH, McAlisterville, Pa.; HFH of Addison County, Middlebury, Vt.

New campus chapters -- Absegami High School, Absecon, N.J.; Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn.



CENTRAL ATLANTIC

(District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia): Sandra Graham, PO Box 1712, Easley, SC 29641, (864) 855-8775.

Sea Island HFH on St. Johns Island, S.C., is in its second year of partnership with Trident Technical College. Students learn basic construction trades, and construct a Habitat house as part of their "lab" experience.

New affiliate—Wayne County, W. Va., HFH; Wayne, W. Va.

New campus chapters—Asheville Christian Academy, Asheville, N.C.; High Point Central High School; High Point, N.C.

Special Events—HFH of Forsyth County in Winston Salem, N.C., has set a goal for Labor Day weekend: to build one to six houses during a "Labor of Love Building Blitz." For information, call (336) 765-8854.


MID-AMERICA

(Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana): Jim Crowley, PO Box 60410, Nashville, TN 37206, (615) 254-6300.

During the holidays, Lexington (Ky.) HFH had an air of the North Pole about it, when Jean Parker, who provides clerical support to the affiliate, became one of "Santa's Helpers." For the second consecutive year, Parker crafted personalized letters from "Santa" for relatives, friends, co-workers and spouses who paid a nominal fee to have the letters delivered -- complete with North Pole postmark -- in time for Christmas.

The homeowner association of Knoxville (Tenn.) HFH hosted the first-ever national Habitat homeowner conference in November. Some 100 home- owners from six states participated in a series of workshops ranging from the legal issues involved in making out a living will and establishing power of attorney, to budgeting and domestic violence. The idea was the brainchild of Habitat homeowner Debbie Lundy. Already, Raleigh (N.C.) and Birmingham (Ala.) are vying to host next year's conference.

Employees at Atlas Van Lines in Evansville, Ind., have been some busy folks. In addition to the hard work they normally do in packing and moving families in and out of the city, they provided the financial support and manpower to build a Habitat house last fall in partnership with HFH of Evansville.

New affiliate—HFH of Jay County, Portland, Ind.

New campus chapters—Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio; McCallie School, Chattanooga, Tenn.


SOUTHEAST

(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico): Dick Weber, 226 N. Laura St., Jacksonville, FL 32202-3502, (800) 637-9532.

In honor of its 75th anniversary, the law offices of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes and Holt presented HFH of Lee County (Fla.) with a check for $35,000 recently. The funds made possible the construction of a house in October. u Plans are under way for the 12th annual South Brevard Strawberry Festival, to be held in March. Sponsored by South Brevard (Fla.) HFH, this is no ordinary strawberry festival: Last year's event raised enough money to build an entire house.

Ongoing builds—HFH Greater Birmingham (Ala.) needs skilled volunteers. Housing is available. For more information, contact Gin Harden at (205) 780-1234.

New campus chapters—Effingham County High School, Springfield, Ga.

Special Events—Greater Miami (Fla.) HFH is working on its Jordan Commons project and needs volunteers. For more information, call (305) 670-2224.

Flint River (Ga.) HFH needs volunteers to help with its ongoing flood recovery work. If you can help, contact Karen Kitchens at (912) 446-8199.


MIDDLE STATES

(Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas): Joe Gatlin, PO Box 3157, Waco, TX 76707, (800) 682-1980.

In October, HFH of Denton (Texas) dedicated a house to the glory of God and the Orozco family. Through a translator, Elena Orozco shared this: "Forgive me because I cannot read this letter myself: I do not speak English. It is great to know that, after all these difficult years in a foreign country, I see my future years from a different perspective because you let me go through the Habitat for Humanity experience."

Members of the Louisiana Forestry Association recently provided the lumber needed and framed a Habitat house in partnership with New Orleans Area HFH.

New affiliate—HFH of Saline County, Benton, Ark.

New campus chapter—DeVry Institute of Technology, Irving, Texas.

Special events—Rapides HFH in Alexandria, La., will blitz build a house in April and is in need of volunteers. For more information, contact Viola Britt, (318) 449-9804.

North Webster HFH in Springhill, La., is building three houses this year and needs volunteers. For additional information, contact Charlie Park at (318) 539-9378.


MOUNTAIN STATES

(Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming): Bruce Petersen, 1005 N.W. Galveston, Bend, OR 97701, (800) 365-4637.

Last August, Tupperware Corp. presented HFH Rogue Valley (Ore.) with a check for $40,000 to cover the building costs of the affiliate's first steel-frame house. The house marks the 17th house built by HFH Rogue Valley in 11 years.

New affiliates—HFH of Grand County, Granby, Colo.; Routt County HFH, Steam Boat Springs, Colo.; HFH of Roosevelt County, Portales, N.M.


WEST

(Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada): Rolf Bell, 1440 Broadway, Suite 205, Oakland, CA 94612, (510) 286-8960.

HFH of the West Valley dedicated a four-bedroom house recently in El Mirage, Ariz. The house is home to Anastacio and Sufrina Romero and their six children.

Beth's Fine Desserts, a San Francisco-based confectionery, had a "sweet" idea for the holidays. For the second year, it designated 20 percent of the price of its "Home Sweet Home" gingerbread kit and 100 percent of the proceeds from a holiday confectionery event to East Bay HFH (Oakland, Calif.)

The five affiliates that constitute Habitat's presence on the Hawaiian Islands have built more than 100 houses in 11 years, many with Native Hawaiians, and in partnership with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. Some families have waited decades for the opportunity to return to their Native land.


MIDWEST

(Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin): Bill Ward, 1920 S. Laflin St., Chicago, IL 60608, (800) 643-7845.

Last fall, in commemoration of the local order of the Cedar Rapids Sisters of Mercy's 125th anniversary, construction began on a Habitat house sponsored by the sisters. The house represents the first women-led house built with Cedar Rapids (Iowa) HFH.

North St. Louis County HFH in Virginia, Minn., recently auctioned off a handmade playhouse on eBay.com.

Twin Cities HFH and Minnesota Public Radio happily found themselves in a win-win situation recently. For each membership pledge to MPR, a participating corporation or foundation contributed $10 to Twin Cities HFH. In all, $540,000 was generated.

In November, Rockford Area (Ill.) HFH dedicated six houses, the most it has built in a single year. The affiliate has built or renovated an additional 14 houses since 1988. New affiliate—HFH of West Central Iowa, Manning, Iowa.


WASHINGTON OFFICE

Tom Jones, 1010 Vermont Ave. N.W. Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 628-9171.

— by Karen Free


Habitat Around the World


AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST

Harry Goodall, PO Box 36764, Menlo Park 0102, Pretoria, South Africa, 011-27-12-430- 9200

In an ongoing effort to decentralize Habitat for Humanity's international area departments, the staff of the Africa/Middle East area now calls South Africa "home." Several staff members -- formerly based at the organization's international headquarters in Americus, Ga. -- have relocated to Pretoria in the continent's southernmost nation.

A conference in February drew some 50 key Habitat leaders to the new offices in South Africa, where they crafted a five-year strategic plan to guide the area's continuing development.

Ivory Coast and Mozambique are now home to HFHI personnel who will work to develop existing interest in Habitat into future affiliates and national organizations.


ASIA/PACIFIC

Steve Weir, Ocean Tower 1, 22nd floor, 170/68, Soi Sukhumvit 16, Rachadapisek, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110, Thailand, 011-66-2-261-3270, office@hfhap.org

As the first light of the new millennium shone on New Zealand and Fiji -- two South Pacific nations located immediately west of the International Date Line -- affiliates there greeted the New Year with "Millennium Builds."

The first Habitat house in Malaysia was dedicated in November. The Choang family's new house, built by HFH Kuching, was funded completely by local donations.

The fifth most populous country in the world, Indonesia is home to some 216 million people, more than half of whom are crammed into just 7 percent of its land area, creating severe housing needs. Little wonder, then, that the dedication of the first seven Habitat houses in Yokyakarta in November was cause for great celebration for HFH Indonesia.


CANADA

Robert Snider, 40 Albert St., Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3S2, (519) 885-4565

In Manitoba, Winnipeg HFH has big plans for its millennium project scheduled to begin this year. The affiliate will help renovate 33 houses and build 10 on Manitoba Avenue -- with hopes to revitalize and stabilize six blocks of the neighborhood.


EUROPE/COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

Ian Walkden, HFHI, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709, (229) 924-6935, ext. 2137 or 2495.

HFH Kyrgyzstan plans to begin construction this summer on 50 houses in the nation's capital, Bishkek. Located just west of China, the newly independent country is known as a land of incredible natural beauty and proud nomadic traditions.

Last August, 17 participants from Poland headed to Beius, Romania, to help blitz build 10 houses there during an "Eclipse Build." The contingent became part of a true "global village" as they worked on a house-building crew that represented several nations and spoke seven languages.

With six houses dedicated in October in Csepel, Hungary, the affiliate's efforts brought HFH Hungary's house total to 36 in three communities. Habitat house- building efforts began in that country during the summer of 1996, when the Jimmy Carter Work Project built 10 houses in the village of Vác.


LATIN AMERICA/CARIBBEAN

Stephen Mickler, SJO-2268, Unit 101-C, P. O. Box 025216, Miami, FL 33102-5216, 011- 506-296-8120, LatinAmCar@habitat.org

In a real exercise in faith, some 400 local volunteers donated their time last September with Habitat El Salvador to blitz build 13 houses in Sonsonate and Cuscatlán during Building on Faith week. The volunteers persevered and built despite Central America's rainy season that conspired against them. The organization plans to build 20-25 houses in August as part of Building on Faith 2000.

To celebrate 20 years of building, all 12 of HFH Guatemala's active affiliates pitched in to build more than 100 houses in November -- among them the 5,000th Habitat house in that country.

Local students braved mud, scorching temperatures, sore muscles and blisters to help homeowners in San Ramón, Costa Rica, build their houses. "We opened our hearts to others' problems," said one student, "realizing we can make a difference in their lives by helping."

— by Milana McLead



Habitat Affiliate Countries— Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Bangladesh · Belize · Bolivia · Botswana · Brazil · Burundi · Canada · Central African Republic · Colombia · Costa Rica · Democratic Republic of Congo · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Ethiopia · Fiji · Germany · Ghana · Great Britain · Guatemala · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Hungary · India · Indonesia · Jamaica · Japan · Kenya · Kyrgyzstan · Malawi · Malaysia · Mexico · Nepal · Netherlands · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Nigeria · Northern Ireland · Pakistan · Papua New Guinea · Paraguay · Peru · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Republic of Korea · Romania · Slovenia · Solomon Islands · South Africa · Sri Lanka · Tanzania · Thailand · Trinidad and Tobago · Uganda · United States, Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico · Zambia · Zimbabwe


Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, December/January 2000.
This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
©1999 Habitat for Humanity International