Many of you already know that Gregg and I are heavily involved in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project with Habitat For Humanity. It is amazing to me how little people actually know about Habitat. So this blog is a small FYI about Habitat and what it does for people all around the world…
“If I had a Hammer” is a book written by David Rubel for children (middle school and up) to learn about Habitat and what they do all around the world. Many of Gregg’s photos from the last 12 years are published in this amazing book.
Let’s start with a few Habitat Myths:
Myth #1 Jimmy Carter started Habitat for Humanity.
Actually, Millard & Linda Fuller started Habitat For Humanity in 1976. Habitat seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. The first sentence in there mission statement says it all, “What the poor need is not charity but capital, not caseworkers but co-workers.” Read more about the history of Habitat by clicking here.
President and Mrs. Carter are Habitats number one volunteers. They are not there for the photo-op but to help build alongside other volunteers.
Myth #2 People are given houses for free.
Nope! In addition to a down payment and monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor (sweat equity) into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses. It is a hand up not a hand out.
Myth #3 Habitat houses go to people on welfare.
While some Habitat homeowners do receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children, all are hard working people. Typically their annual income is less than half the local median income in their community. They are people stuck in a cycle of poverty housing looking for a way out. Habitat is that way out.
Habitat For Humanity helps families from around the world. They build in more than 50 countries and to date have build more than 350,000 houses, sheltering more than 1.75 million people in more than 3,000 communities worldwide.
People from all over the world come together once a year to join President and Mrs. Carter for the Carter Work Project. But just because you can’t volunteer then, doesn’t mean you can not help. Contact your local Habitat Affiliate to learn how you can help eliminate poverty housing in your area.
All the pictures in this blog are from “If I had a Hammer” which is available online at most book outlets. Share with your children the power of volunteerism and how they can help.
Thanks for listening.
Angel & Gregg
