Field Notes
With the addition of seven new affiliates in February and March, Habitat for Humanity International has 1,538 affiliates in the United States (including the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico) and also is represented in 66 other countries. In addition, there are 603 campus chapters in the United States and 12 countries 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.

In Philadelphia, Pa., two dozen high school students from St. Joseph's Preparatory School cleaned out the basement of HFH North Central Philadelphia's office and helped put the finishing touches on three houses that were dedicated in January. As one result of their involvement, the students are raising the funds to sponsor the building of a house, making St. Joseph's Preparatory School the first in the northeast to fully sponsor a Habitat house.

When thieves broke into the locked metal equipment chest on the Yonkers Habitat construction site of HFH of Westchester (N.Y.) in February, they made off with lots of tools. But thanks to scores of individuals and businesses such as Home Depot, Bosch Tools and Chase Manhattan Bank, a new supply of tools was donated within days of the theft.

New campus chapter -- Mercyhurst College, Erie, Pa.



CENTRAL ATLANTIC

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

What do Habitat homeowners eat for breakfast? For Robert and Laurie Lane of Belmont, N.C., it's got to be new Lucky Charms with Sprinkles. That's because their 10-year-old son, Christopher, is one of six kids pictured on the box for winning "The 1999 K-Mart Kids Race Against Drugs," a battery-powered go-cart race held in nearby Charlotte, N.C., earlier this year. Of 500,000 entrants, his name went into a hat along with those of 49 other racers with top qualifying times. Then, his was one of six names drawn to compete for the top prize of a $10,000 scholarship in a second race in Orlando, Fla. The Lanes have lived in their Habitat house for three years, and partnered with the Belmont satellite of HFH of Gastonia in building it.

New affiliate -- HFH of Nicholas and Webster, Richwood, W.Va.



MID-AMERICA

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

Holston HFH (Kingsport, Tenn.) celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, and plans to build 14 houses. Add that to the 86 built by the affiliate over the years, and the total is 100 houses. Holston HFH is quick to place credit where credit is due, however, saying in a recent newsletter that it owes its success to the dedication of hundreds of volunteers who raise money, run the Resale Store, recruit covenant partners, find sites, select and support families, build houses and serve on committees and the board of directors.

A recent donation from the Mid-Ohio Regional Porsche Club of America made it possible for Richland County HFH (Mansfield, Ohio) to purchase a small trailer in which to store and secure equipment and tools on Habitat building sites.

Appalachia HFH (Robbins, Tenn.) is now accepting donations for its new start-up project: a resale store. Proceeds go directly to Appalachia HFH to help build Habitat houses. If you have usable building materials, large or small appliances, or furniture to donate, contact the affiliate at (423) 627-2507.

New affiliates -- Campbellsville/Taylor County HFH, Campbellsville, Ky.; HFH of Haywood County, Brownsville, Tenn.; HFH Overton, Livingston, Tenn.; HFH of Paris/Henry County, Paris, Tenn.

New campus chapters -- Park Tudor High School, Indianapolis, Ind.; University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, Tenn.



SOUTHEAST

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

Alex City Area HFH, in Alexander City, Ala., and a new service organization formed from nearby Benjamin Russell High School teamed up during the school year. Called the Tie Club (because the majority of the club members like to wear ties), its purpose is to work to improve BRHS and the community through service projects. The members volunteered for several days, recently finishing up construction on Alexander City HFH's fifth house.

New affiliate -- HFH of Bradford County, Starke, Fla.

New campus chapters -- Andrew College, Cuthbert, Ga.; Lassiter High School, Marietta, Ga.



MIDDLE STATES

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

Sedalia Area HFH (Sedalia, Mo.) is working on its 12th house and is in particular need of volunteers. If you can help, contact Dorothy Robinson at (660) 826-1467 or Darrin Tobias at (660) 563-5336.

Fifteen-year-old Austin HFH (Texas) kicked off its anniversary year in January with house dedication ceremonies to mark the completion of a 24-house subdivision it began building two years earlier. Following the dedication ceremony, several Habitat homeowner families opened their homes for tours; all 24 families took part in hosting a luncheon.

New affiliates -- HFH of Benton County, Bentonville, Ark.; HFH Lawrence County, Monticello, Miss.

New campus chapter -- Concordia University, Seward, Neb.



MOUNTAIN STATES

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

Each April, Medford, Ore., holds its annual Pear Blossom Festival. This year, HFH Rogue Valley entered a float for the first time, and came away with third place in the general excellence category. Fifty-one people walked with or rode the float along the 2.5-mile parade route, 39 of whom were Habitat family members. The float, one of 150, was a small-scale framed structure decorated with donations of helium balloons and a banner that read "Habitat for Humanity--Building Stronger Community as Time Goes By."

Mesilla Valley HFH (Las Cruces, N.M.), founded in 1987, dedicated its first house of the new millennium in April. The house represents the 34th house built in the past 13 years in partnership with families within a 10-mile radius of downtown Las Cruces. The second-largest city in New Mexico, Las Cruces lies roughly 40 miles north of the Mexican border at El Paso/Juarez.

New affiliate -- HFH of the Roaring Fork Valley, Carbondale, Colo.



WEST

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

Payson Area HFH (Payson, Ariz) ran this thought in it its spring newsletter: "Do you know that the town's population is now 13,000? If each person gave one penny a day for one year, Payson Area HFH would have enough money to build a house--with money left over to pay on another building lot."

HFH of Orange County in Santa Ana, Calif., has a win-win situation going on thanks to the volunteer efforts of the "Geezer Gang," a dedicated group of mostly retirees. The affiliate has come to rely on these weekday volunteers to get lots of work done. Says Ruxton Tucker, retired general manager of an electric company, "When you run a company, you might see the results of what you do in six months or a year. Here, I see it every day."

New affiliate -- HFH of Indian Wells Valley, Ridgecrest, Calif.



MIDWEST

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

In June, Knox County HFH (Wheatland, Ill.) took time out from its busy building schedule to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Over the Fourth of July, the affiliate broke ground on a 1.2-acre lot upon which it plans to build several houses.

In Alpena, Mich., HFH Alpena Area celebrated its tenth anniversary in April. Over the years, it has built or renovated 17 houses.

New affiliates -- HFH of Sawyer County, Hayward, Wis.; HFH of Saline County, Harrisgburg, Ill.

New campus chapters -- Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

— by Karen Free


Habitat Around the World


AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST

Harry Goodall, PO Box 11179, Hatfield, Pretoria 0083, South Africa, 011-27-12-430- 9200

In May, Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, minister of housing for South Africa, joined the Habitat affiliate in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, to help dedicate 35 new Habitat houses. His words that day inspired those gathered together, and called for continued action: "I commend you for not folding your hands and waiting for government to bring subsidies. ... You stood up to do something for yourselves. ...I want to ask you to join hands to write a new history of South Africa; to ask you to be a people who moved on from poverty to be on their own, to improve the quality of their lives. ... Doubting Thomases should not discourage you. We need to face our challenges and move on toward the future of what we want in South Africa."


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

Following the ambitious 293-house blitz build of the 1999 Jimmy Carter Work Project in the Philippines, affiliates in that nation took on a bold new initiative for the year 2000: to engage 15,000 young people in building 200 houses in 13 communities during the first six months of the year. The result? By mid-April, Filipino youth had surpassed those goals in a mere four months.

Located in the heart of Southeast Asia, HFH Kuching in East Malaysia built two houses in May and two in June. This follows the dedication of the 2-year-old affiliate's first house last November. The affiliate credits Alliance Area HFH (Ohio) with providing the funding through its tithe for several houses in Malaysia. Among the more than 100 volunteers helping build the houses were members of the Malaysian Army and Navy.

HFH New Zealand closed out 1999 having dedicated 19 houses throughout the South Pacific island nation. To top off a good year, its affiliate in Gisborne welcomed the new millennium by building three houses, bringing the total number of Habitat houses built in New Zealand to 72. Goals for the year 2000 call for the construction of 45 houses.


CANADA

David Beckerson, 40 Albert St., Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3S2, (519) 885-4565, hfhc@sentex.net

HFH Waterloo Region dedicated its first Women Build house in July in Kitchener, Ontario. Typically, women make up half of Habitat for Humanity's volunteer force, yet due to lack of training, they account for less than 15 percent of workers on the construction site. As a result, HFHI's Women Build program promotes the involvement of women in construction, providing an opportunity for women to learn construction skills in a non-intimidating environment. Since 1989, the HFH Waterloo Region has built or renovated 30 houses throughout the province.

Three provinces to the west, Lethbridge HFH in Alberta plans to double last year's building accomplishment by completing a duplex in June and another in September. That brings the number of duplexes built by the 6-year-old affiliate to eight, housing 16 families and more than 30 children.


EUROPE/COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

Ian Walkden, HFHI, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709, (229) 924-6935, ext. 2137 or 2495, Europe/CIS_Area_Office@habitat.org.

One of Northern Ireland's newest affiliates, HFH Downpatrick, began work in its namesake city in May in an area situated between an existing housing estate and a new building scheme. A local builder--who had acquired 55 derelict houses from the Housing Executive--agreed to release five of the Model Farm Estate units to HFH Downpatrick for renovation. While the surrounding area has seen some recent regeneration with new developments nearby and increasing property values, there are still areas of blighted housing estates in need of rejuvenation. With local support and partnerships, HFH Downpatrick hopes to be a catalyst for change in the community, in much the same way that HFH Belfast has been in the Iris Close and Glencairn communities of West Belfast.


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

Habitat Brazil spent the last three months of 1999 completing 169 houses with six affiliates. Habitat Piracicaba continued the momentum this year by working with 40 families to complete their houses by this summer. In addition to construction, the affiliate is focusing on its educational program by providing information on homeownership, cooperative action, problem-solving skills, and more.

El Salvador is the smallest, yet most densely populated of the Central American countries. A long civil war that ended in 1992 took some 75,000 lives and left the nation in extreme housing need. To meet the need, Habitat El Salvador built a total of 233 houses in 1999 and set an ambitious goal to build 264 more houses this year.

— by Milana McLead



Habitat Affiliate Countries— Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Armenia · Australia · Bangladesh · Belize · Bolivia · Botswana · Brazil · Burundi · Canada · Central African Republic · China · 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 · Samoa · Singapore · 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, August/September 2000.
This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
©2000 Habitat for Humanity International