Field Notes
With the addition of 12 new affiliates in August and September, Habitat for Humanity has 1,569 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 626 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.

South Shore HFH (Mass.) received the Compassionate Ministry Award from the Esther R. Sanger Center for improving the lives of more than 30 families in need, providing volunteer opportunities to thousands of people and for uniting South Shore faith communities in ecumenical work.

Poverty housing was in the spotlight when Pioneer Valley HFH (Mass.) featured Circus Smirkus, a nonprofit youth circus, in its summer fund-raiser. The circus troopers, ages 9 to 19, train in Vermont and then tour New England each summer. The circus entertains with acrobatics, clowning and humor. Between local business sponsorships and ticket sales, the affiliate was able to raise $15,000.

New affiliate -- HFH Fayette County, Uniontown, Pa.

New campus chapter -- Clarkson University, Potsdam, N.Y.



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

Several dedicated students at the University of Richmond (Va.) each pitched in 15 hours a week at Richmond HFH as part of the Bonner Scholar scholarship program. Maggie Cawley served as a community resources coordinator; Seth Hayden helped in the family services department; Ryan Hall worked on property research; Angeline Lee assisted the executive director; and Enoch Hill lent a hand in developing a corporate team-building program.

New affiliates -- HFH of Gloucester-Mathews, Gloucester, Va.; Bladen HFH, Elizabethtown, N.C.



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

A group of volunteers from Northern Ireland helped HFH of Simpson County (Ky.) blitz build two houses over two weeks last summer. The build was part of a three-year statewide push to build or refurbish 2,000 houses, an effort that united about 80 providers of low-income housing. Two of the Northern Ireland volunteers are themselves Habitat homeowners in Belfast.

Morgan County HFH (Ind.) and several other Indiana affiliates have received authorization from the state of Indiana to grant state tax credits for contributions exceeding $100. This means that for every donation over $100, half of the donation will be subtracted from the donor’s state tax bill. For more information, contact the affiliate at (765) 349-9003.

New affiliate -- HFH of Martin County, Loogootee, Ind.

New campus chapter -- King College, Bristol, Tenn.



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

Corporate Office Products in partnership with Wiregrass HFH (Ala.) is offering a way for Habitat volunteers to help the environment and raise funds for Habitat houses by recycling toner cartridges. The affiliate can collect used toner cartridges and turn them in to receive $1 to $5 per cartridge. The cartridges are later remanufactured and sold at a reduced rate.

HFH of Lake County (Fla.) dedicated its first “stamp house” last spring. For seven years, volunteers donated, collected, soaked, sorted, processed and sold thousands of stamps to raise the funds for the house. The group is now working to raise funds for a second house.

New affiliates -- Washington County HFH, Sandersville, Ga.; HFH of Russell County, Phenix City, Ala.; Arcadia-DeSoto HFH, Arcadia, Fla.; HFH of Coffee County, Douglas, Ga.; Wayne County HFH, Jesup, Ga.

New campus chapter -- Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Fla.



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

The Congregational Relations Committee of Austin HFH (Texas) organized an All-Faith Build in September as part of Building on Faith week. Thirty different congregations participated in various ways, from providing lunches to hammering nails, and the Jewish Federation staffed Sunday builds.

New affiliates -- HFH of Altus Area, Altus, Okla.; DeWitt County HFH, Cuero, Texas

New campus chapter -- Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.; Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, Okla.



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

South Puget Sound HFH (Wash.) reports that between buying a suitable lot and adding up the costs of infrastructure, building permits and impact and connection fees, each lot costs about $30,000—and that’s before construction starts. Land donations and reduced selling prices are becoming more and more important in keeping those costs down. Contact the affiliate at (360) 956-3456 for information on how donating land could provide a tax advantage.



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

Visitors to Cal Expo, California’s state fair, got an in-depth look at the making of a Habitat house in August. Sacramento HFH offered a completed Habitat house as an exhibit, and volunteers built another house at the fairgrounds right before visitors’ eyes. Homeowner families and volunteers served as tour guides for the 25,000 to 30,000 people who walked through the completed house. The Habitat message reached additional thousands through media coverage of the fair. After the fair, the houses were taken apart, transported to their permanent lots and reassembled.

On the wish list for Prescott Area HFH (Ariz.) are crew leaders to greet and organize work crews, office volunteers, a digital camera and merchandise for the ReStore. Contact the affiliate at (520) 445-8003 for more information.

New affiliate -- HFH of San Gorgonio Pass Area, Banning, Calif.

New campus chapters -- VUniversity High School, Irvine, Calif.



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

Okiciyapi Tipi HFH (S.D.) has a new used truck to transport construction supplies, thanks to the generosity of Habitat supporters in the area. The previous truck had broken down beyond repair, but emergency donations allowed the affiliate to replace the truck without serious work delays.


— by Rebekah Graydon


Habitat Around the World


AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST
(Harry Goodall, PO Box 11179, Hatfield, Pretoria 0083, South Africa, 011-27-12-430-9200)

In August, a delegation of young people, activists and artists led by recording artist Quincy Jones traveled from Los Angeles, Calif., to Johannesburg, South Africa, to blitz-build three houses with Arekopaneng HFH. Jones, who has been active in South African and American humanitarian issues, joined the efforts of his nonprofit foundation Listen Up, with Artists for a New South Africa, to sponsor the build. The partnership not only provided volunteer power to build the houses, but also provided funding for an additional 25 to be built in the township of Orange Farm. The youth contingent of the “From South Central to South Africa” group included several disadvantaged inner-city young people who are contributing to social change in their communities.


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)

In an effort to encourage peace and reconciliation in a country severely divided by ethnic tensions, HFH Sri Lanka mounted a “Tour and Build” project. An ongoing effort, the Tour and Build kicked off a plan to build 750 houses in Sri Lanka by this December, in addition to peace marches, interaction programs and celebrations designed to bring together people of all faiths, ages and ethnic backgrounds. Launched last December, the project brought together multi-ethnic teams to build more than a dozen houses with both Tamil and Singhalese families. Volunteers also trekked 1,000 kilometers visiting Habitat communities.


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

HFH Canada’s seventh annual Ed Schreyer Work Project traveled to Windsor, Ontario, in July. More than 850 volunteers—among them, former Governor General Ed Schreyer—put their hammers to the task of blitz building 10 houses within that community. HFH Windsor-Essex credits local support for much of the build’s success. In fact, the local community college and some high schools prefabricated interior and exterior walls that were transported to the site; and restaurants and church groups served some 500 meals a day for five days. And, after the theft of three newly installed furnaces and hot water tanks, the community rallied and not only replaced the stolen units, but donated in excess of $12,000 (Canadian dollars) to the affiliate.


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.)

Fifteen sturdy houses now stand in the Kurgan Teppa region of Tajikistan—the result of a partnership between Shelter Now International and Habitat for Humanity International. Shelter Now, an organization dedicated to responding to the shelter needs of people displaced due to war, persecution or disaster, partnered with Habitat to provide homes in this war-torn area south of the capital city of Dushanbe. Professionals there—doctors, lawyers, teachers—earn only $10 per month, putting homeownership out of reach, particularly in the aftermath of their nation’s civil war. Thanks to this partnership, at least 15 families have not had to relocate to improve their circumstances.


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)

Despite Ecuador’s economic crisis of the past few years, HFH Ecuador—established in 1998—managed to build houses amid soaring inflation and transportation strikes. The organization completed 11 houses as of June. Among the homeowners there is Luz Maria Neira, who says of her new house: “Working with Habitat has been good, because I have learned to appreciate what I do in building my own house. ...I gave my effort, my sweat, my pain to build it. I learned to build a house, but not only a house—it is my house. ...I had the satisfaction of feeling that it is mine, and also for my children, because the house is something important in my life.”

HFH Guatemala hosted a group of Concord College students from Winnepeg, Manitoba, for two weeks recently. “To work with Habitat for Humanity has been the most important experience for me during my three months in Guatemala,” says student Sarah Peters. “I loved the work in Colomba Costa Cuca. We felt proud of being able to help this couple in need. Habitat workers taught us patience and we learned a lot. One day, I hope to return...to continue working as a volunteer with HFH Guatemala.”


— 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, December 2000/January 2001.
This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
©2000 Habitat for Humanity International