Syracuse Habitat for Humanity  helping build homes in Uganda

Did you know that Syracuse Habitat for Humanity participates in Habitat for Humanity’s Tithe Program? The tithe program allows Habitat affiliates to donate to builds overseas, Syracuse Habitat sponsors builds in Uganda. At a cost of $ 2,974 Syracuse Habitat for Humanity is able to help build homes for those in need in Uganda. We recently got an update from one of our homeowners, Bululu Genes. His new home is just about completed and we are inspired by his story.

Bululu Genes is young – only 17 years but he has faced a side of life no parent would ever desire of their child. At a very tender age, he lost both parents, was (together with his two siblings) abandoned by his paternal relatives and had to resign to living with a helpless grandmother. Gene’s destiny was almost guaranteed – that he would end up as ‘good for nothing’ especially without any formal education until Compassion International through its Bududa Child Development Center (CDC) found him. Compassion has since been paying his school fees. When Genes is not at school, he does lots of menial chores to make ends meet for himself, his siblings and the grandmother – at 17, life has forced him to live an adult life. Make no mistake however, Genes is a young man full of fervor and very energizing to interact and work with. The first time we met, their house construction had started and he had requested for permission from his school authorities so he could help out with menial in the house site. We had a brief interaction but enough to assure me that all would be well in future for him.

Habitat’s OVC Program Intervention

Site inspection by contractors at Genes future home

HFHU’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program is designed to address challenges faced by Orphans who find themselves in Gene’s position. The program not only provides housing, it also trains the OVC or their Care Givers on Will making (inheritance rights protection), which in many cases is lacking and thus the major cause of property loss/grabbing. In partnership with Compassion International’s Bududa Child Development Center, HFHU built Genes and his siblings a four roomed house complete with a Ventilated Improved Pit-latrine (VIP) and adjacent shower stall. We believe that, with the training Genes will receive on Will Making, he can avoid manipulation and loosing the house to his relatives.

About the Bududa District

Site Construction

The Bududa district (located in the Eastern part of Uganda at the Border with Kenya) is one of our OVC program areas of operation. One of the villages in the district was recently (in early March 2010) affected by landslides which left at least 200 people (almost an entire village) dead. The attached profile is for a beneficiary in the affected district.

More on the Uganda Habitat Program
Over a half of all households in Uganda have only one bedroom and typically three to four people share this room. 38 percent of the population lives in grass thatched huts. For 25 years, Habitat for Humanity has partnered with low-income families to build simple, decent and affordable homes in Uganda. The homes are built with Ventilated Improved Pit latrines and adjacent shower stalls.

Genes standing in front of the shower stall

Most homes in Uganda are built using fired mud bricks and sand which are locally available and easy to make or find. Once building has started, however, most homeowners find that the materials needed to complete construction are too cost prohibitive. Through home improvement loans and micro-financing, Habitat for Humanity helps these families complete their homes.

Due to a countrywide increase in the cost of building materials, the cost of homes is continually rising. Additionally, many low-income families have trouble accessing bank credit for home construction. Habitat Uganda helps these families by building with them in stages. After the families have paid off their home loans, they can apply for additions to their existing homes.

Genes outside his home with Habitat field staff

Habitat Uganda works with Orphans and Vulnerable Children and their caregivers. OVCs are common in Uganda, due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. In addition to home construction, Habitat Uganda offers training on HIV/AIDS awareness, succession planning and life skills.

Highlights

• HFH Uganda has served more than 5, 900 families in 20 districts.
• 59 homes have to-date been built specifically for orphans and vulnerable children and their caregivers.