Habitat For Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or simply Habitat, is an international, non-governmental, non-profit organization devoted to building "simple, decent, and affordable" housing, a self-described "Christian housing ministry." The international operational headquarters are located in Americus, Georgia with the administrative headquarters located in Atlanta. There are five area offices located around the world: United States and Canada; Africa and the Middle East (located in Pretoria, South Africa); Asia-Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand); Europe and Central Asia (Bratislava, Slovakia); and Latin America and the Caribbean (San Jose, Costa Rica).
Community-level Habitat offices act in partnership with and on behalf of Habitat for Humanity International. In the United States, these local offices are called Habitat affiliates; outside the United States, Habitat operations are managed by national offices. Each affiliate and national office is an independently run, nonprofit organization. Affiliates and national offices coordinate all aspects of Habitat home building in their local area, including fundraising, building site selection, partner family selection and support, house construction, and mortgage servicing.
The mission statement of Habitat for Humanity is "Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope." Homes are built using volunteer labor and are sold at no profit. In some locations outside the United States, Habitat for Humanity charges interest to protect against inflation. This policy has been in place since 1986.
Read more about Habitat For Humanity: History, Qualifications For Home Ownership, Building and Other Affiliate Operations, Ongoing Programs
Famous quotes containing the words habitat and/or humanity:
“Nature is the mother and the habitat of man, even if sometimes a stepmother and an unfriendly home.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)
“In verity ... we are the poor. This humanity we would claim for ourselves is the legacy, not only of the Enlightenment, but of the thousands and thousands of European peasants and poor townspeople who came here bringing their humanity and their sufferings with them. It is the absence of a stable upper class that is responsible for much of the vulgarity of the American scene. Should we blush before the visitor for this deficiency?”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)