In all of our rehabilitation and construction projects we work together with the homeowner families, the entire community and with international and romanian corporate volunteers. The families accepted in Habitat for Humanity programs have to participate in building their own home and that of others in their community.

Habitat for Humanity is not a giveaway program. The entire Habitat program is oriented toward the development of responsible behavior of the families and the community. Once the building is done, the homeowner families pay back the home mortgage over 20 years at no interest, and invest up to 1500 hours of sweat equity labor on other Habitat homes. Once the construction is paid for, the family is the only owner of the home.

The sums collected are consolidated in the “Fund for Humanity”, a rotating fund, that will help many more families.

How we choose the homeowner families

People in need go through a selection process that depends on many factors and depending on the projects developed at the time in Habitat for Humanity, it may take a longer period of time.

At the core of the selection process there are these 4 main criteria:

The need for a simple, decent and affordable home;
The existence of an income, even a very small one, from which they can afford to pay a monthly rate for Habitat for Humanity. This amount will go in a rotating fund that will help other families;
They will to work (up to 1500 hours) on their own home and that of others. Before they are selected, the possible homeowners have to volunteer 100 hours on Habitat for Humanity projects.
To be close to our affiliates: Beiuș – Bihor, Cluj Napoca – Cluj, Comănești – Bacău, Rădăuți – Suceava. National Bureau of Bucharest runs programs in other regions of the country, too. Write to us at info@habitat.ro to find out more.

THE SELECTION PROCESS

TRANSPARENCY

The families in dire need of a home are chosen in a transparent and non discriminating way by the committee of family selection. These committees are composed of volunteers from the local community where a Habitat for Humanity affiliated organization activates. The selection committee sends the Board a list of families that are in the biggest need for housing in the area.

The opportunity of getting a Habitat for Humanity home is announced in local newspapers, churches, radio and posters and the entire selection process lasts about 3 months.

THE SELECTION

The families are invited to hand in an application for getting a home. A series of meeting will follow, where Habitat for Humanity presents the families what it means to become a partner, what responsibilities and what rights every party has, how the building takes place, how the home will look, when the inauguration will take place, etc.

Then the members of the family selection committee visit the place where the families that applied live and they go through an entire process of evaluating the conditions in which they live and their need for a home.

You are HABITAT

Once selected, the families will sign a partnership contract that represents at the same time the pre-contract for the future home, but also the commitment of putting in up to 1,500 hours of volunteering.

When the home is finished – in about 10 months – a festive dedication takes place and the family is handed in the keys to their new home, and then there are made the final arrangements for the property papers.

People who already benefit Habitat for Humanity program

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Beneficiaries