Habitat for Humanity’s Foundations in Zambia

Habitat for Humanity first came to Zambia at the invitation of American missionaries based in the Kafue Flats area. Habitat for Humanity International sent an evaluation team from the former Zaire to meet with residents of Chanyanya, a fishing community nestled on the banks of the Kafue River. Impressed by the community interest and moved by the need in the Kafue Flats area, the project was approved in 1984, and building began. The first houses were built on Kabuyu Island for fisher families living on the Kafue River.

Over the years HFH has helped to facilitate multiple development initiatives in the Chanyanya community. In addition to housing, HFH has helped facilitate the construction of a school, clinic and community centre, among other projects like road improvements and bridge construction. From these humble beginnings, Habitat for Humanity Zambia has expanded into six of the country’s nine provinces. Affiliates are currently located in Katete, Chisamba, Chisumbu, Nkwazi, Ndola, Ibenga, Magoye, Nakansangwe, Kaoma, Mufumbwe, Palabana (PADA), Chanyanya, Tiyende Pamodzi Affiliate in Lusaka (HFHZ’s urban affiliate) and recently Habitat for Humanity Zambia has also started a program of building and renovating houses for Orphans and Vunerable Children of Chazanga communit.

Over 1,680 houses have been constructed since the program began in 1984. The average size of a HFHZ house is 35m2 (approximately 12 ft²). These houses cost US$2,970 per unit and are paid for at an average repayment rate of US $8 per month. In keeping with the ethos of using regionally appropriate technology, most rural houses are constructed of burnt bricks and covered with corrugated iron sheets. The affiliate of Kaoma is an exception to this technology, as its predominantly sandy topography necessitates the use of concrete blocks.

The houses are simple with well-defined sleeping, cooking and living areas. The design may vary slightly from location to location, but generally the quality of a Habitat house far exceeds the typical low-income house design. Additions have been incorporated into the design, giving the homeowner the option of expanding the home once it is fully paid off. HFHZ currently assists low-income families and eagerly looks forward to expanding this work to incorporate other vulnerable groups.


Housing Need
Today Zambia is one of the poorest and least developed nations on earth. Around two-thirds of the population lives on less than a dollar a day. Despite progress in privatisation and budgetary reforms, Zambia's economic growth remains below the 5 to 7 percent necessary to reduce poverty significantly. 63.7 percent of the population live on less than $1 per day while 87.4 percent below $2 per day .

Zambia's housing problems have since the mid 1980s been compounded by one of the world's most devastating HIV and AIDS epidemics. As population migration increases to urban centres in search for a better life, cities like Lusaka and Ndola are unable to provide adequate services and infrastructure needed to support the demand. Data estimates suggest that currently 70 percent of the urban population in Lusaka continue not to have access to affordable and quality housing. This problem has been exacerbated by the rising level of unemployment in the formal sector and the prevalence of non-living wages. This means that quality housing even where it is available remains far beyond the reach of the many urban poor currently living in shanty towns. Due to their precarious financial status, they do not have access to any mortgage facility and cannot therefore afford their own homes.

In addition to the increase in poverty housing in urban and peri-urban settings, an estimated 60 percent of the population living in rural areas face an even grimmer reality. Housing needs in these remote areas are considerable. People depend mostly on subsistence agriculture in the villages for their income and live in mud and wattle structures with grass thatching. These structures require annual overhauling, which seldom happens; cracked and broken walls invite serious health risks, as well as rain and rodents into the house; families are crowded into a single room, which usually also serves as a kitchen; and children are introduced daily to life-threatening conditions. These poor living conditions fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic, feeding a cycle of poverty that disempowers vulnerable populations.


Cracked and broken walls invite serious health risks, rain and rodents into the house. Families are crowded into a single room, and children are introduced daily to life-threatening conditions.
Habitat for Humanity Zambia House Sponsorship Cost is (USD): $2,970