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Background on Habitat for Humanity
Those in NEED
Decent shelter is a basic human necessity, yet roughly 25% of the
world's population (some 1.43 billion people) live in substandard
homes or have no homes at all. Families are trapped in a daily
struggle to survive amidst horrible, often inhuman living conditions.
In the United States poverty housing exists in every major city of
every state and in countless rural areas. In Tucson, some 24,000
families spend more than 50% of their income on housing. Over 1,000
homes are abandoned and boarded up, and large families often crowd
into overpriced, undersized apartments. Less than 100 miles south of
the University of Arizona, impoverished residents of Nogales, Mexico
live in squalor. The U.S./Mexico border, where the first and third
worlds meet, provides a vivid reminder that the rest of the world
does not enjoy the high standard of living that many U.S. citizens
are used to.
Our Purpose
Wildcat Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to supporting the ideal
of Habitat for Humanity International --that people deserve a simple,
decent place to live at a cost they can afford to pay. Habitat works
in partnership with low-income individuals and families in an effort
to eliminate poverty housing locally, across the U.S. and worldwide.
Future homeowners work alongside Habitat volunteers, contributing
hundreds of hours of "sweat equity" to build their homes and the
homes of their neighbors. They then purchase their homes from Habitat
on a no profit, no interest mortgage. In Tucson, Habitat homes cost
residents around $300 per month. The funds from these mortgages go
directly to building more homes.
The members of Wildcat Habitat for Humanity
work regularly with
the local Habitat affiliate, Habitat for Humanity Tucson to provide
livable housing for less fortunate members of our community. Our
first trip to Nogales to work with Habitat for Humanity Sonora occurred in
early '98. The campus chapter's goal is to involve the
campus and surrounding community in the work of Habitat for Humanity,
to excite students about the opportunity to enhance the world they
live in and to show them how to take responsibility for the conditions
in their community, both locally and globally.
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