MBiz

19 MBiz | june 2017 the Carters to return to a locale where they have already built. But, as Pereira explains, the Carters decided to come back to Winnipeg because of their particular interest in and affinity for Indigenous people. Forty percent of the houses being built in Winnipeg in July are earmarked for Indigenous families. Habitat houses are not given away. They are purchased at fair market value by families who have met strident criteria, including the donation of 500 hours of their sweat equity to the organization. What Habitat does though, thanks largely to corporate sponsors, is make the dream of home ownership possible by selling the houses without profit and providing affordable, no-interest mortgages geared to the income of the purchasers. "What Habitat families have in common is that the adults in the family are working full-time and have done so for an extended period of time," explains Pereira. "They all have children and they are trying to improve the quality of life for their family. But for a variety of reasons, they have been unable to gather the down payment required to purchase a home and are unable to qualify for a traditional mortgage." It is a well-established fact that stable and affordable housing provides positive health, employment, educational and economic outcomes that benefit both the families residing in the homes and society as a whole. That is precisely what has motivated Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter's more than 30 year commitment to Habitat for Humanity, and it is the reason that they will be in Winnipeg again this summer to hammer, saw and sandpaper with thousands of other like-minded volunteers. ■ T H E P A T H Y O U T A K E I S J U S T A S I M P O R T A N T A S W H E R E Y O U G O . scu.mb.ca

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