Building with Hábitat México
Our Executive Director Christine Schudde was invited to join other U.S. Habitat affiliate leaders and Habitat International staff on a learning trip with Hábitat México this fall. Below, Christine shares her experience and takeaways.
From the moment I stepped onto Hábitat México’s construction site in Huamantla, Tlaxcala, I knew I was home. Despite the many differences between that project and the ones in my own community, the commonalities transcend borders:
Volunteers, coming together in service of a common goal.
Staff and subcontractors, generously and patiently sharing their expertise.
The beneficiary family, working hard to build a better future for themselves.
Private sponsors, investing in the wellbeing of their community and providing vital funding for home construction.
Together, we poured the foundation for an entire home, bucket by bucket. U.S. Habitat affiliates leaders, Habitat International advocacy staff, Habitat’s Area Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean and Hábitat México’s Executive Director stood shoulder to shoulder with corporate volunteers and community members with our eyes on a common vision: a world where everyone has a decent place to live. After we finished the foundation, we sat down to share a meal together.
The next day, our group visited two families who recently moved into their new Habitat homes. At the first visit, we saw the family’s previous shelter and heard about the challenges they had faced: leaky, drafty, vulnerable to damage from rain and wind, largely constructed from aluminum and cardboard. By contrast, their new house is weatherproof, resilient, energy efficient and safe.
When we visited the second home, the matriarch told us that she had been living in an extra room at her daughter-in-law’s house, which she also shared with her adult son with disabilities. They didn’t have any privacy or space for themselves. Now, in their new Habitat home, they each have their own bedroom. She surprised us with a homemade meal of chileatole and tortillas before we left.
We spent an afternoon learning about the strategies employed by Habitat for Humanity in Latin America and the Caribbean and the specific housing interventions and innovations happening in Mexico. Affiliate leaders shared their own challenges and successes too, quickly noting that despite our unique contexts, we are all One Habitat.
How incredibly lucky are we to be a part of this diverse global Habitat family?! No matter where we come from, we all deserve a decent place to live. Through shelter, we empower.
We are thrilled to announce that Habitat for Humanity Capital District’s board of directors approved a new multi-year tithe commitment to Hábitat México!
As a global organization delivering local impact, Habitat is uniquely positioned to address the world’s shelter crisis. Since 1976, our work in more than 70 countries has helped 59 million people build or improve the place they call home.
Each year, we tithe (share) a portion of our unrestricted funds with Habitat colleagues around the world. Tithing is an ancient practice of many faiths and cultures and we proudly commit to it in our covenant agreement with Habitat International. This practice has created a cycle of generosity and partnership, transcending borders and languages.
Cada mano transforma vidas, un hogar a la vez.
Every hand transforms lives, one home at a time.
Our affiliate is committed to tithing to support Hábitat México’s work along with a tithe designation to the Orphans and Vulnerable Groups Fund, which provides housing solutions for the most vulnerable, such as orphans and ethnic groups facing persecution.