Initiative:Promotion Organizations:Sponsor: Support:
How did HPH Brazil begin?
Habitat for Humanity Brazil began working with low-income families in 1992 in Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais. However, since July 2005 the Head Quarter is operating in the Northeast region in the state of Pernambuco. This strategic decision was made aiming to attend the local demand because its housing deficit is higher than in the Southeast. HFH Brazil is currently working in more than 20 cities in nine Brazilian states: Ceará, Goiás, Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Tocantins, assisting almost 3.000 families.
The program assists families with an income of up to three minimum wages, selected by a local committee based on the following criteria: housing need, payment capacity, availability to work on the construction of their own house and to participate in the training process.
The key to HFH’s success in building houses lies in the community’s collaboration in the construction, which reduces costs and increases productivity, as well as the partners’ overall commitment and involvement. Habitat houses are built thanks to the help of different members of the community, including socially responsible companies with corporate volunteer programs, the government, local businesses, churches, schools, other NGOs, community volunteers and future homeowners.
The houses
Nowadays, Habitat for Humanity Brazil had constructed 2.962 houses. If we consider each home has 5 members, in accordance with Brazilian reality, we had already helped 14.800 persons to have a decent home to live in.
The house model, which may be 48 square meters to 57 square meters, is defined together with the partner family, always respecting the goal of building a simple, decent and economical house.
In many regions, houses are built using the area’s most common method (cement, sand, brick, steel) and its costs are estimated between US$ 6000 and US$ 7500, including social work investments. The families have up to 72 months to pay monthly installments between US$ 20 and US$ 70. Besides, we can approve another loan to the families expand or remodel their houses, but it needs early evaluation of the project.
Housing Needs
Statistics from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) for the year 2000 demonstrate that in Brazil there is a housing deficit of almost 6,660,000 houses, with a mostly urban concentration that makes up 81.3 percent of this deficit. In other words, more than two thirds of the housing deficit is found in urban areas and less than one third in rural areas. The greatest needs are in the northeast and southeast areas. In the cities, conditions are worse, causing deterioration and an increase in urban overcrowding.
It is estimated that more than 50 million people live in inadequate conditions. Most of these families have an income below three minimum wages (minimum wage = R$ 350 = $USD 150).
In the 90s, the attitude towards the reduction of the housing deficit began change; it began to be seen as an issue that was not just the government’s responsibility. From 1964 to 1986, approximately 27 percent of the houses built received some kind of financing, which resulted in a huge reduction in this index (11 percent), according to the João Pinheiro Foundation (2000). The general population of Brazil is responsible for a majority of the housing deficit’s decrease, through individual or collective initiatives, which highlight self-construction methods.
© 2006 Habitat for Humanity Brazil. All rights reserved.