Habitat for Humanity Cameroon
 | |  | | | Habitat's Work in Cameroon | Number of families served this year*: 11
Full house sponsorship cost: US$6,730
Incremental house sponsorship cost: US$1,720
| | Cameroon News and Stories | A clean home for Denis
|
| |
Cameroon -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Why Habitat is needed in Cameroon
The situation of poverty housing is visible and alarming in Cameroon. Despite the political and social stability and numerous natural resources that abound in the country, the majority of Cameroonians live in poor housing conditions. Sixty-seven percent of the population lives in suburbs, and housing conditions are far from being improved because suburban housing is qualified as informal settlements. These informal settlements experience 5.5 percent growth annually because the rural exodus is high in Cameroon due to lack of employment opportunities in small towns and villages. Consequently, the population expansion in big cities, such as Yaounde, Douala and Bafoussam, causes serious housing problems.
|
The housing need in Cameroon is vast. People use whatever materials they can find to build shelter.
|
|
|
|
Djibril, an HFHC homeowner in Ntumbaw, stands proudly in front of his new home.
|
|
|
Poverty housing is also a problem in rural areas, where most homes are built with mud or wattle and daub with thatch roofs that require constant maintenance. Basic amenities such as clean drinking water, electricity and basic sanitary infrastructures are also scarce or unaffordable and unreliable for most of the people living in poor communities. These difficult living conditions lead to frequent illnesses and make raising children extremely challenging.
How Habitat helps
Habitat for Humanity Cameroon was established in the capital city of Yaoundé in 2000 to enable people living in substandard housing to access decent shelter. The program is working through nine affiliates in the Northwest and Central Provinces and continues to grow, with many new projects being considered.
HFHC houses in rural affiliates are 36 to 48 square meters in size and consist of two bedrooms, a hall and an outdoor latrine and bathing area. Houses are built using appropriate technology, namely stone foundations with pressed, sun-dried earth, or “laterite,” bricks that are bonded and plastered with earth and cement mortar. The peak construction period in these affiliates is the dry season (December to June).
Habitat for Humanity Cameroon’s urban houses measure 60 square meters and consist of one bedroom and an indoor toilet. Houses are built with cement blocks, which are quick and easy to use, allowing homes to be built throughout the year in Yaoundé.
Construction of houses usually takes between four to five weeks to complete. Houses are payable over a period of five to ten years. On completion of repayment, homeowners can easily expand their homes to three bedrooms and a hall through the application of a second loan.
Highlights
- Partnering with leprosy patients and psychiatric patient caregivers.
- Partnering with MUPROF-Gic.
- Partnering with CISCO International.
- Partnering with CITI Group International.
- An urban partnership initiative in Yaoundé.
- House rehabilitations projects.
Facts about Cameroon
Location: Western Africa
Population: 15,421,937
Languages: English, French and 24 major African languages
Literacy: 63 percent
Climate: Tropical along the coast, semiarid and hot in the north
Religions: 40 percent Christian, 20 percent Muslim and 40 percent indigenous
Government: Unitary Republic
Economy: Oil and agriculture
|