'Families feel a great sense of pride once construction is complete.'

In his latest On The Ground column, Martin Piper looks at the work of the hurricane proof house-building project Habitat for Humanity International.

Walking around the town of Bluefields on the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, it is hard to find a building that is not crumbling and dilapidated. On the outskirts, makeshift shacks are made from driftwood and tin, often built on precarious land that suggests the whole construction will fall with the next storm.

This remote port town is isolated and inaccessible from the rest of Nicaragua. Most people make a living from fishing, many others migrate to other parts of the country or to Costa Rica in search of work.

Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) started its project here after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Joan in 1988.

The focus of its work, to provide housing for the poorest families and communities, or in its words, “to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, making decent shelter a matter of conscience and action,” (www.habitat.org).

To date, in the region of Bluefields alone, the organization has built just over one thousand homes, the Bluefields project, comprising one of nine similar projects throughout the country.

These houses are built to international standards to withstand the force of hurricanes and seismic activity. “To determine those families most in need, HFHI works closely with local authorities and the Nicaraguan ministry of health (MINSA), ensuring new homes are provided for those most at risk,” Lucia Morales Rodriguez, Bluefields’ regional coordinator explained.

Process

The organisation involves communities and families in the construction process promoting a greater sense of solidarity between them, whilst providing valuable training in methods of construction.

The idea being that with this knowledge people can help to build more houses for their neighbours. “Families feel a great sense of pride once construction is complete” said Lucia Morales Rodriguez.

Beneficiaries are offered interest free loans to pay for their homes at a monthly rate that is manageable for each family. The money generated through this scheme is directed to a special fund whereby all income is put towards the construction cost of more houses, for more people in need.

The organisation also runs workshops specifically aimed at women teaching them how to manage a household with limited financial resources and encouraging them to take charge of the repayment.

Research into micro-credit schemes consistently show women to be better at keeping up repayments, moreover the responsibility of managing the family’s budget gives women a stronger position within the home and the community.

Families throughout Nicaragua who have benefited from the work of HFHI pay between $3.50 and $30 per month. The cost of construction in Bluefields is $6000 per house.

Alliances

“Due to the region’s isolation, it is difficult to get materials here, therefore we are continually trying to make alliances with other institutions and NGO’s to minimise construction costs and therefore the overall cost to each family,” explained Lucia Morales Rodriguez.

The organisation has recently received a grant of $1800 towards the cost of each house from the Nicaraguan institute of urban and rural housing (INVUR). Along with such financial help HFHI also receives brigades of volunteers, mostly from the USA, who visit to help with construction work.

Since its foundation in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has grown and evolved into a huge organisation. It currently has projects in one hundred countries, where it has built more than two hundred thousand homes for poor and marginalised families.

The organisation has provided an estimated one million people with a decent home and a new start whilst offering them new skills to help others within their own communities.

For more information on the work of Habitat for Humanity’s international work visit www.habitat.org

Martin Piper is a former employee of Christian Aid who now lives and works in South America.

These are personal comments and not necessarily the position of Christian Aid or its partners.

• Read other columns from Martin Piper