How Habitat Transforms Lives
Habitat for Humanity builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of homeowners (known as "homepartner") families, volunteer labor, and donations of money and materials.Building Homes: Our Core Competency

Habitat houses are sold to homepartner families at no profit. Homepartners repay through affordable, zero-interest, inflation-adjusted mortgage loans. These monthly mortgage payments are pooled into a Fund for Humanity so that the amortization of one house will help build another ("House-for-a-House" principle).

Habitat for Humanity is not a "giveaway" program. In addition to an initial down payment of one-third of the house cost and monthly mortgage repayments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor - "sweat equity" -- into building their Habitat house and the houses of others.

Additional "muscle" for construction comes from volunteers from local affiliates, partner corporations and organizations, universities, schools, and youth groups. Volunteers even come from other countries, from as far away as Europe and the United States.

Working with Others, Achieving More
Habitat for Humanity's work is accomplished by affiliates -- independent, locally-run, non-profit volunteer groups. Each affiliate co-ordinates all aspects of Habitat home building in its area. The affiliate selects prospective partner families and secures suitable sites. It organizes mortgage services, fund-raising and donations of materials, and manpower for constructing houses.
Building communities through product alliances

Families Chosen on Need
An affiliate chooses homeowners based on their level of need, their ability to repay the loan and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat. Affiliates follow a non-discriminatory policy of family selection. Religion is not a factor in choosing the families to become Habitat homeowners.

Funding Habitat's Work
Donors may choose to sponsor one third of a homepartner's house costs; the homepartner saves up the other third while the international Habitat community provides the rest. Thus, a 25-30 square-meter, concrete house that costs PhP70,000 today can be built for a donation of only PhP 25,000. This funding scheme called "Save and Build" helps potential homepartners better afford a house and to promote a savings culture among them.