Habitat for Humanity of Lee County, FL

Tithing Efforts

"A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD." - Leviticus 27:30

Habitat for Humanity is in 90 countries worldwide. Every 20 minutes, a new family receives the keys to a Habitat home somewhere in the world. In 1988, Habitat for Humanity of Lee County began tithing ten percent of every mortgage dollar from Habitat homeowners. This money went towards overseas building in underdeveloped countries. In two decades, Habitat for Humanity of Lee County has tithed more than $2.2 million towards overseas building. The affiliate is the second largest worldwide for Habitat tithing efforts. To date, this tithe has built more than 750 homes in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Central America, El Salvador, Europ, Guatemala, India, Latin America, the Caribbean, South America and many others.

Here are some of the families Habitat for Humanity of Lee County has impacted:

Habitat homeowners Kunthit and Boontam Jaikum lived with Kunthit's parents and several siblings with their 19-year-old son Teerachai in Chiang Mai, Thailand. While moving several times, the family settled on a one-room apartment before finding Habitat. Kunthit works as a maid and in the coffee shop of their apartment building. Boontam is a van driver for a tourist agency and a gardener. "We are very thankful for the professionalism, dedication and generosity of the Habitat staff and volunteers," says Boontam. "Yes and I'm very impresssed that people of many different religions can come together to make such a tight and loving community," says Kunthit.

Habitat homeowner Madou Manzon, who is blind, and her daughter, sit in front of their new home in the rural village of Goda. Among the world’s largest producers and exporters of coffee and palm oil, West Africa once boasted the strongest economy. Now, due to a devastating civil war and global economic pressure in 2002, the area contends with extreme poverty and its exhausted infrastructure struggles to meet the growing needs of the people.

Jayshree Ananta Shelar (center) and her daughter Paurima and son Satish outside of their new Habitat home in India.

Habitat homeowner Doina Herman smiles in front of her home in Romania. The retiree lives here with her three children; her oldest son works in a factory that makes heating stoves and helps to pay the mortgage. By June 2008, Lee County’s Habitat affiliate will have housed 37 families in this country.

Yussef Usupov and wife Kholniso pay their Habitat mortgage by selling the furniture they construct together at the local bazaar in Khujand, Tajikistan. Two earthquakes hit this country in 2006, leaving more than 16,000 people homeless. Habitat for Humanity is now rebuilding the area with earthquake resistant structures.