Joyce's Page 2a

 Habitat for Humanity: 

In 2014, I had decided to give out self-made care packages to the homeless people of Toronto. Throughout this process, I spoke to a kind, homeless man who explained to me the struggles of being homeless and the poverty cycle that exists. This experience opened my eyes to the living standards that individuals near me had to go through on a daily basis. Thus, I conducted research on nonprofit organizations that build homes for individuals stuck in the poverty cycle. I came across Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization, which builds homes for local inhabitants in Canada who suffer financially. These inhabitants must go through an application process to see if they qualify, pay an interest-free mortgage, and volunteer at least 500 hours with Habitat for Humanity building homes for other individuals. The objective of this process is for poverty-ridden individuals to build a sense of strength with their new homes and to serve back to their community. For this to be possible, Habitat for Humanity follows a three step cycle: Build, Buy and Reinvest. The Build step involves volunteers and homebuyers to build homes with donated equipment and materials. Next, the Buy step, involves the individuals who have qualified for the homebuyer status to purchase the newly built homes. Lastly, the Reinvest process, is where the mortgage fees of the homebuyers is reinvested into the cycle and used in the Build step. Habitat for Humanity was initially found by Millard and Linda Fullard, whom developed the three step process. Their first organization was in 1973, and was strictly located in Congo. Later, in 1976, Habitats for Humanity became international and began providing homes for the low income families all over the world. The reason why Habitat for Humanity inspires me, is because the organization is nonprofit; hence, all of the labour and materials are based upon donations. This concept amazes me because it allows the community to give back to one another in return for a life-changing home. In addition, since the organization is nonprofit, the Fuller's had no intent of personal gain by creating this project; Habitat of Humanity began by their passion of improving the lives of others. Therefore, Habitat of Humanity is an influential organization that inspires me to give back to the community around me.

References

About us. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2017, from https://www.habitat.ca/en/about

Build and homeownership process. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2017, from

https://www.habitat.ca/en/how-we-help/building-and-ownership-process

Explainer Video for Habitat for Humanity Canada. (2013, December 12). Retrieved November

22, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGORuAIWFwY

M. (2016, November 24). Retrieved November 22, 2017, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQiBPSbKss

Our History. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2017, from https://www.habitat.ca/en/about/history