Home is where the heart is

Ask any Filipino what his great dream is, and for sure, topping the list will be a home he can call his own. When asked to define the concept of home and what it means to him, various images come to mind – a refuge, a center of family life, a place where the heart is, a castle where love and progress must blossom, and a symbol of independence and dependence.

To the Pinoy middle class and above, this great dream is realizable. Hard work, patience and good financial planning can be their powerful weapons. To the marginalized sector, however, it may seem impossible to achieve. The optimists among them, though, will assert that the not-so-well-off can attain it, too, especially if corporate Philippines’ housing and development agencies, non-profit organizations and socially responsible companies and individuals put their resources, efforts and initiatives efficiently together to help make it reachable. Owning a house, in whatever shape or form, includes the opportunity to live life in a safe, thriving community where children get educated, right values are developed, and economic empowerment for the family is promoted.

One big name in housing projects is Habitat for Humanity International. It recently resurfaced when it stepped up its programs in various regions to help mark National Shelter Month, which is ending tomorrow. I said "resurfaced" simply because its absence in media for quite some time eroded its top-of-mind awareness and was overtaken by the more aggressive Gawad Kalinga push. Habitat, though, originated the initiative on eliminating poverty housing and homelessness by building simple yet decent homes (within the context of where it is located) for economically disadvantaged Filipino families.

Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP) began its operations in 1988 and has so far built some 15,000 shelters – ranging from single-detached bungalows and duplexes to townhouses and medium-rise condominiums – in more than 100 well-planned communities in 20 provinces and 29 cities. Its target is to build a total of 50,000 abodes by 2011. The homes are not straight dole-outs. They have been made available at affordable rates and packages to former shanty dwellers, as well as salary earners like teachers, policemen and government employees who might not otherwise afford civilized dwellings.

Sustainability is the mark of any Habitat endeavor. It is made operational by its "a house for a house" principle, where home partners enter into an agreement to pay an affordable amortization scheme that goes into a trust fund that provides other beneficiaries the opportunity to build their own home. A homeowner is made to pay an initial down payment equivalent to one-third the cost of the unit (about P 60,000), plus investment in hours of physical labor in constructing his own house and those of his neighbors’.

Habitat houses are built using suitable technology, superior design, and materials donated or sold at big discounts. They are dignified, strong and beautiful in their own right. HFHP communities also have support programs for values formation, including a culture of saving, better access to livelihood, education, health, and peace and order. With an extensive network of coalitions, HFHP works in equal partnerships, bringing its core competencies and funding, and creating synergies that result in communities with a sturdy sense of collective esteem. Sharing the vision of a "world where everyone has a civilized place to live," the Philippines is among the top three country builders of Habitat International. The two others are the US and Guatemala. Over 1,000 volunteers from various countries come to the country every year, contributing US$250 per head to building homes for the poor.

Theology Of The Hammer

A Habitat story would not be complete without talking about its founder, Millard Fuller, who, after becoming a self-made millionaire, gave away his money and created this Christian housing ministry that has provided affordable housing for millions of people worldwide. Musing on his personal journey and the extraordinary work of Habitat in Voices from the Heart, he says, "We can focus on the tremendous need and get discouraged or we can focus on what is going right, like building a house every 50 minutes."

Habitat gives a lot more help to developing countries. The theory is that in countries like the USA, England or Canada, poverty is surrounded by wealth, but in a place like the Philippines, poverty is surrounded by more poverty. Each local Habitat group has its own requirements, but the two main criteria being used in entering into a home partnership are that a person is living in inadequate conditions, and that he is too poor to get conventional financing.

Habitat operates by what Fuller calls the "theology of the hammer," anchored on two basic ideas. The first idea is that true religion has to be more than praising, praying and preaching. There must be an action component, translated in Habitat’s trademark way of taking a hammer and hitting the nail to build a house for somebody to live in. The second idea is that the activity must bring together a wide array of people of varying persuasions.

"What we are trying to do in Habitat is to incarnate God’s love. Love changes things. It is the most powerful force in the world," Fuller says. "It is manifested," he adds, "when we unleash the power of love through the simple act of building houses. In the process, people come to appreciate one another. It enables them to have a new understanding of what it means to be religious, and what it means to be an authentic Christian."

In one trying, confusing time when his wife left him, Fuller recalls seeing a movie on TV. A young Chinese military officer, he narrates, had fallen in love with a woman missionary, and he was in a dilemma because he wanted to marry this woman but he knew that if he did, it would ruin his career in the Chinese army. So he went to a village leader, an old Mandarin, and posed his problem to him. The Mandarin responded by saying that a planned life can only be endured. This deeply affected Fuller, remembering what somebody once said that so many people tiptoe through life hoping to arrive safely at death, fearful of leaving a job they detest because of their pension plans. Fuller believes that a person who does that is not living but enduring.

Fuller deems that to live an unplanned life, you have to step out in faith, and faith is something you cannot prove, you just have to do it. You have to be willing to fall on your face. He supposes that to suffer ridicule or misunderstanding is a wonderful and incredibly exciting way to live. "One of the most satisfying feelings you can ever get in life is that you’re part of something that is making a difference," he stresses.

Home is where the heart is. It is where meaningful changes in the lives of deprived families can start. It is where we can truly discover that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," and that the process of changing the world commences with transforming oneself. As David McArthur and Bruce McArthur write in The Intelligent Heart, "If we seek to manifest love by utilizing our inherent abilities to serve others in whatever we are doing, we find the greatest opportunity for development, for then we are giving expression to our love for our neighbors and ourselves."

Fuller’s vision releases the spirit of people who believe in it, as it encourages the public to take charge of their portion of the world, volunteer to help build homes, and heed the prayer, "May all beings be free from suffering."

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