The homes of more than 50 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean simply have a dirt floor. Which means worse quality of life, illnesses and medical expenses. In children, it affects their cognitive and motor development, they suffer frequent gastrointestinal diseases which, in turn, translate into school absenteeism.
Dignifying these homes means “materially improving the lives of families, health, protected childhood and the future,” says Cesarina Fabián, national director of the organization Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic.
She knows perfectly well that this is the case because the organization has changed the dirt floors for concrete pavement in 3,200 homes in 120 communities in the country and benefited 9,927 people as part of the 100 thousand floors to play program of the Habitat for Humanity organization. With this reality and the goal of doing the same in another 10,000 homes until 2028, they opted for the Social Awards of the Mapfre Foundation, with which they have been awarded and received 40,000 euros.
Since the launch of the 100 thousand floors to play project, in 2022, the different national sections of Habitat for Humanity, a global organization present in more than 76 countries around the world that has allowed more than 46 million people to access decent housing, have replaced 19,653 floors of land, benefiting 98,265 people from 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Measurable results
«In the Dominican Republic alone there are about 69,000 homes in this situation. Places where people live, yes, but that do not meet decent conditions. So, we are not talking about housing, but about substandard housing,” he emphasizes.
The improvement in the quality of life of families is seen in their daily lives, “children play more inside their homes and families are motivated to make some more improvements. They also make what we call productive housing, because the new conditions allow them to do business, for example, single mothers who open small businesses.
These improvements “are also accredited by a study by the University of Berkeley and the World Bank, which demonstrated the impact of changing from dirt floors to concrete on families: their medical expenses decreased by up to 79%. Specifically, children suffered 78% less parasitic infections, 49% less diarrhea and 81% less anemia). In return, their hours of play at home improved by 80%, school absenteeism was reduced by 15% and their cognitive development improved by up to 96%.”
Throughout the project, which has the support of Ficem (Inter-American Cement Federation), the concrete used is produced locally and generates community employment. In addition, it uses municipal solid waste as fuel, which reduces its CO2 emissions. and prevent them from going to landfills.