SANTO DOMINGO.- In the last six months of 2023, Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic has mobilized some US$6,325,951 in around 1,800 loans, impacting approximately 7,200 low-income people excluded from the banking system who have been able to make improvements to their homes through microfinance.
The organization explains in a press release that it has served as a market facilitator to have a greater impact on low-income Dominican families who are excluded from the banking system, so that they have access to microfinance products and services and can build or improve their homes progressively.
He explains that the process can include anything from laying a concrete floor or building a roof, to improving the bathroom or kitchen, making structural changes to the home, and more. "In this way, with short payments and small loans, families can apply to programs with our financial partners, depending on their income level and ability to pay.".
He adds that thanks to collaborative work with microfinance institutions such as Banco ADEMI, Banco ADOPEM, Banco BHD, CoopAspire, Esperanza Internacional, Visión Fund República Dominicana, among others, more Dominicans can have access to microfinance for housing.
Habitat Dominicana explains that by facilitating access to these financial products, families also receive housing support services, such as technical construction assistance, thus having the possibility of building with professional guidance, and achieving a safer home, better health in their homes and more suitable conditions that can accelerate their quality of life.
"In a country frequently impacted by storms and hurricanes, it is necessary for families to prepare their homes and build them with quality and under the assistance of a professional in the field.".
He adds that, in addition, technical assistance helps families to create an appropriate budget, use quality quantities and materials, have a future vision for their improvement, and receive assistance in structural projects.
"We train families in financial education so they can organize their household finances with different modules that include sources of income, different expenses, family budget, savings plan, and debt. This helps families make better investments in housing in an organized and planned way," the organization says.
He maintains that since his beginnings in the country, under his vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live, one of his main projects has been to provide greater access to knowledge and resources so that more individuals can accelerate their process of building a safe home and a better future for themselves and their families.
About Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic
Habitat for Humanity is a global, non-governmental, non-profit organization that works to ensure that every person has a decent place to live, through programs focused on microfinance for housing, minimizing risk and increasing response to disasters www.habitatdominicana.org.
Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic empowers families to build strength, stability, and self-sufficiency through housing. Since its inception in 1986, the organization has provided over 43,166 housing solutions and impacted approximately 215,830 people. It also contributes to improving the living conditions of families facing both qualitative and quantitative housing shortages in the country.
