ABOUT US

Global Impact

Investing in Affordable Housing Around the World

Since 1985, Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver has made a global impact by investing in Habitat’s work in 40 countries around the world. In 2018, we reached the milestone of investing more than $3 million in Habitat’s global work, and have sponsored more than 900 homes internationally. We’re currently partnering with five Habitat affiliates around the world, and are proud to be making a difference in the following countries: JordanNicaraguaNepalEthiopia and Lesotho.

In addition to home sponsorships, we’re investing in four special projects that address acute housing and sanitation needs. Read below about the special initiatives we’re sponsoring in Ethiopia, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Cote d’Ivoire.

An Ethiopian Story

"This house helped us improve our education!"

Lemlem and her two teenage daughters used to live in a dilapidated house that had a dusty floor and a leaky roof. Their housing conditions were so bad that one side of their house was on the verge of collapsing, putting all of their lives at risk. As a daily laborer who earns $40 per month, Lemlem was doing her best to provide for her daughters so that they could attend school. But her salary was barely enough to cover basic needs, let alone home repairs. That’s when Lemlem partnered with Habitat Ethiopia to completely renovate their house. Today, Lemlem and her daughters are thriving in their Habitat home that’s safe, healthy, and has quiet space for them to focus on their studies.

Ethiopia Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project​

Overview

Habitat Metro Denver is partnering with Habitat Ethiopia to address critical needs in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). This project is designed to assist 763 families (12,434 individuals) low-income and vulnerable families in the city of Addis Ababa and Ambo who live in poverty and have no access to safe water and adequate sanitation. Through this project, Habitat Ethiopia plans to address water and sanitation needs and enhance the capacity of families and communities through WASH training related to personal hygiene and environmental sanitation.

Demonstrated Need
  • Access to adequate sanitation is 20% countrywide and 27% in urban areas.
  • More than 80% of the households do not have an adequate latrine and 38% of households have no access to toilets.
  • Almost half of the population (out of 106 million) does not have access to safe water.
Project Highlights
  • Construct communal toilets and sanitary sewer lines.
  • Hygiene and sanitation training (Addis Ababa and Ambo Town) to serve 763 families.

A Nepali Story

"Without Habitat's support my family would not imagine building a house with my meager income."

Sita is a hardworking mom of two who partnered with Habitat Nepal’s Earthquake Assistance Project after the devastating 2015 earthquake turned her family’s house into a pile of rubble in a matter of minutes. Forced into a refugee shelter during the aftermath, Sita looked for work as a farmhand in order to support her son and daughter. Since partnering with Habitat, she’s been able to rebuild her life with a new 2-bedroom home using earthquake resilient materials including mud, rebar, cement, stone, and bricks with corrugated galvanized iron sheets for roofing.

Nepal Earthquake Reconstruction

Nepal was hit by a devastating earthquake in April 2015 killing about 9,000 individuals and damaging over 800,000 houses. Four years after the earthquake, a little over 40% of the affected families have completed their homes, while many still live in temporary shelters, their unsafe damaged houses, or with family members.

Demonstrated Need
  • Less than 40% of 800,000 destroyed/damaged homes have been completed since the 2015 earthquake.
  • Many still live in temporary shelters, unsafe damaged homes or with family.
Project Goal
  • Build and repair 400 homes.

A Nicaraguan Story

"With a good kitchen my children will no longer get sick."

Mariela makes a living by making tortillas, but the work that gives her livelihood also takes away the health of her loved ones, especially her children. She worries about her sons’ health problems; Jimmy has asthma and is susceptible to bronchitis, and according to a doctor, Jacob has suffered pneumonia due to smoke inhaled through their oven. By partnering with Habitat Nicaragua, Mariela was able to build and purchase a new home where it is safe for her children and does not flood during the rainy season. Since moving into her new home, her children’s health has improved tremendously.

Nicaraguan Women, Business, and a Healthy Kitchen Project

In Nicaragua, 90% of the rural population or peri-urban areas use wood for cooking, causing carbon monoxide emissions that are finally inhaled by the families themselves and manifests itself in respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, pulmonary emphysema, and cancer. Over 100 women will benefit from the construction of an improved stove (Ecofogón), a design that works with very little wood, accelerates the cooking process of tortillas, and ensures that the smoke is expelled by a chimney.

Demonstrated Need
  • Many families have informal work or little work training.
  • 90% use firewood as main energy source for cooking, which causes deforestation and health issues.
Project Goals
  • Transform kitchens in partnership with 100 local women.
  • Adoption of improved stoves for food preparation for family, wood saving with chimney, sell food for income.
  • Installing water filtration system to improve sanitation.
  • Education for partner families about maintenance of stoves, hygiene and proper use of kitchen area and use of renewable energy.

A Cote d'Ivoire Story

"With the water points rehabilitated, my children can go to school with confidence and the condition of life has improved here."

N’Guessan lives in Troumambo, a small village in the central region of Côte d’Ivoire. She is a housewife and mother of five children. The only water point in the village was installed 20 years ago. When the pump is broken, N’Guessan, like many families in the community, has to walk nearly two miles to get unsanitary water from the Bandama River. When the government installed the old pump, there was no water point committee set up. This situation meant that when the water pump broke, nobody knew how to repair it. When Habitat started the rehabilitation of the broken water pump, N’Guessan said it was one of the most beautiful days in her life.

Cote d'Ivoire Village Relocation Project

Habitat Metro Denver is partnering with Habitat Cote d’lvoire to address serious health and flooding concerns in Dida-N’Glossou. Poor hygienic habits—such as defecating in the bush versus in latrines, and drinking polluted water from the N’Zi River—has led to increases in diseases such as malaria in vulnerable populations. In fact, malaria is the leading cause of death among infants in Dida-N’Glossou, which has a shortage of clean water.

Demonstrated Need
  • The poverty rate in the region is 61.8%.
  • Only 18.1% of households possessed a pit latrine.
  • 30.3% of households practiced open defecation.
  • There is an increased spread of water-borne diseases (cholera, yellow fever, and malaria).
  • 37% of the rural population does not have electricity, and uses diesel, which is expensive and polluting.
Project Goals
  • Mobilization of funds for the construction of 73 housing cost to relocate the disadvantaged families.
  • Build about 80 houses to accommodate all families in need.
  • Contribute to protection of the forest.
  • Educate communities on protecting the environment/forest.