Houses: What Makes Them Decent? Blocks and Beams? Or is it More?

Substandard living conditions impose a constant hardship on poor families everywhere. Winter winds blast through cracks in the walls. Disease-carrying insects nest in thatch roofing, while rodents scurry about undeterred. Rain-soaked bedding yields another sleepless night, as mold and mildew claim their own residence in walls and flooring. In the United States, especially, children unknowingly suffer the hazards of lead-based paint, while their parents scratch for better ways to ease the housing burden.

A decent place to live, however, provides hope, launching families into a new cycle of promise and progress. It offers warmth in the winter, dryness in the rainy season--structural stability, physical comfort, emotional reassurance.

Photographs on the following pages feature houses from each of Habitat for Humanity's world regions, illustrating both substandard and Habitat housing conditions. Brief commentary about certain aspects of the houses provides insight into the impact--either positive or negative--housing has on families.

While more than a billion people struggle with inadequate living arrangements, there is hope. Better housing makes a difference--and in so many corners of the world, Habitat for Humanity is there to help.