Friday, April 9, 2010

Love in the Mortar Joints: Building the foundation for 'Habitat for Humanity'

I read the book ‘Love in the Mortar Joints’ by Mr.Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity. I was really inspired on reading this, and though should share it with you.
Hope most of us have heard of this organisation. I was in the assumption that they involve volunteers to build houses for poor and then give it to them. It seems that there is a lack of important details in my assumption.
These people organise funds and build houses for poor – this of course is true. But they simply don’t give it to the poor, but they sell it to them. The house thus purchased by the poor has to be paid as loan for 20 years in small monthly instalments. The important think is that they are interest free loans (the Economics of Jesus at work – just as in the teachings of Bible or in any great religions like Hinduism or Islam). The money that comes back is again pooled in to build more houses for poor. Of course, there is inflation. But Fuller seems to be confident of getting enough funds to do this work.
My first enlightenment: I never thought micro-finance has got anything to do with this organisation, but I found mF forms the crux of their organisation. But in a more pure form.
The next enlightenment about the organisation that I got was that they are completely faith-based organisation. The founder Mr.Millard Fuller had literally taken the concepts in Bible as told by Jesus, and has been involved in serving the poor in ‘tangible’ ways. These are bunch of people trying to live a Christain living as in the teachings of Bible in more practical way; and they are not religious fanatics. Great isn’t it!
It was really inspiring for me!

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