Two-year-old Sonia Tomoso Güicol looks forward to living in a Habitat house in Guatemala.

Making Ends Meet can be a Question of Survival
Take a world tour with families in seven countries. What would you do in their shoes?

For countless families around the world, low incomes provide a flimsy foundation on which to plan and "get ahead" in life. Mothers and fathers make impossible choices daily and do without what many would deem essential, such as health care, an adequate diet, a decent place to live.

The precarious balance of finances can be destroyed when an unexpected crisis jeopardizes the means by which families survive. They may manage to cover necessary expenses but have nothing left to bridge a financial gap created by loss of work, a death in the family, illness or disaster.

In the following pages, Habitat World profiles the financial burdens of families from seven countries. Though their location, climate and culture vary, these families--like so many others--confront the daily hurdle of meeting expenses within the confines of a low income.

Join Habitat World on this tour of the globe. Here's the catch: While you are on this tour, consider yourself "poor." Follow in the footsteps of those who face difficult choices about shelter, food, health care or education, and consider what decisions you would make.

Will you forego health care in order to eat? How will you get by during the rainy season when there is no work in the fields? Will you work three jobs and leave your children home alone in order to pay school fees?

These and the hypothetical catastrophes (and solutions) posed in the following pages are based on real-life experiences. No matter where a family lives, a limited income leaves little "breathing room" in the case of unanticipated expenses.

While not the cure for every poverty ill, an affordable Habitat house not only helps ease the financial burden so many families shoulder, but it also provides a safe, decent place to live--and that can go a long way toward peace of mind.

The Habitat World editors invite you to share the decisions you make by writing to: Editor, 121 Habitat St., Americus, GA 31709 or via e-mail at habitatworld@hfhi.org. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers, only tough choices.