New housing loan program helps disadvantaged families in Macedonia

HFH Macedonia enters partnership with local loan organization to serve country’s neediest communities

SKOPJE, Macedonia (June 27, 2007) – Habitat for Humanity Macedonia will now be able to serve more families in desperate need of better living conditions as a result of a new partnership with a local microfinance organization.

HFH Macedonia and Horizonti signed a contract at the end of June to work together to provide small loans to the most vulnerable groups of people in Macedonia. The maximum loan is up to 1,700 euros with up to 30 months to repay the loan.

“We’re excited about the partnership with Habitat because we have the same mission,” said Elena Georgiev Milanovska, operations manager, Horizonti. “In our mission we see improving the living standards of society’s most vulnerable people.”

Horizonti started as a development program within Catholic Relief Services in 2000 and has since broken off as a non-governmental organization. Horizonti operates in eight cities in Macedonia with two offices in Skopje, Macedonia’s capital city.

To qualify for a loan, the applicant must be economically active, meaning they must have some form of daily or monthly income. The person must also demonstrate the need for housing improvement. This requirement will be evaluated by a Habitat construction manager with subsequent follow up visits once the building is complete.

In the initial stages of the program, HFH Macedonia and Horizonti are running a pilot project for one year in which 50 families will be selected to participate. The families that are eligible for this phase must already be Horizonti customers.

The partnership between HFH Macedonia and Horizonti marks the second program that HFH Macedonia has with a microfinance organization. HFH Macedonia started the Home Improvement Fund program two years ago after partnering with the local affiliate of Opportunity International (Moznosti).

“Habitat is looking forward to working with Horizonti in order to help the poorest and most vulnerable people improve their housing situation,” said Darko Buldioski, communications and resource development manager, Habitat for Humanity Macedonia.

Similar to the Home Improvement Fund, the new partnership will help families renovate or repair their substandard housing. According to Macedonian government statistics, about 12 per cent of Macedonians live in substandard conditions but the real figure is thought to be much higher. Since average families cannot afford to buy new homes due to the hard financial conditions that need to be met, many families live in their parents’ houses. Many generations living in one house is a frequent phenomenon. In Macedonia’s cities, the average age of buildings is about 30 years and, due to the poor maintenance, they are in need of immediate renovation.

Both loan programs target the community’s most disadvantaged, which, in Macedonia, as in many European countries, is the Roma population. Many of Horizonti’s clients are in the Suto Orizari municipality, which is one of nine municipalities of Skopje and the only one in the country to have a population that has a Roma majority.

Moznosti clients, Sanela and Sengel, live in the Suto Orizari settlement. Together, they have three children – Semir, eight; Lisa, five; and Fernando, two-and-a-half. The young couple lives in a house with two rooms, one main room, where the grandparents live, and one bathroom. The family took out a 4,000 euro, three-year loan from Moznosti to pay for the addition of the second floor of their house and make improvements to the roof, among other repairs.

Sanela, who works with the elderly in Skopje, said their living conditions have vastly improved since taking out the loan. “Our life is better now because there is space for everyone,” said Sanela, adding that her children now have a room of their own to live in and sleep.