Building Tithes Across the Globe–Indiana to Uganda

At the 2017 Habitat Global Conference, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County in Bloomington, Indiana, received the Sam Mompongo Award for $1 million in lifetime tithe contributions. Since 1989, Monroe County Habitat has tithed more than one million dollars, supporting hundreds of families internationally. Our affiliate recognizes the importance of tithing, contributing to Habitat’s global ministry and supporting affiliates in El Salvador and Uganda.

Through Habitat for Humanity’s Tithe Program, Habitat affiliates are encouraged to donate a percentage of their undesignated funding to further the organisation’s work in other countries. The Tithe Program creates global connections between countries with the common goal of eliminating housing poverty. The lack of quality housing in Uganda is vast, compromising people’s health and development opportunities and perpetuating poverty. Monroe County Habitat’s tithing helps Uganda’s efforts to provide adequate housing, develop financial services to benefit potential homeowners, and create educational programs supporting Uganda’s most vulnerable.

Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, Indiana, was founded in 1988, with a mission to eliminate poverty housing by building decent, affordable homes in partnership with qualifying families. Our vision has always been the same: a world where everyone has a decent place to live. With 1 out of 5 Monroe County residents living in poverty, the highest percentage in Indiana, the work of our affiliate carries special urgency. Our organization has built, or begun construction on, 189 homes in partnership with local families. This translates into housing for nearly 700 people, almost 400 of whom are children.

Through shelter, we empower.

Allison Hess

Director of Marketing and Communications Habitat for Humanity Monroe County

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Monore County has donated over 250,000 USD to Habitat for Humanity Uganda in the last three years. This donation has been used to improve shelter in vulnerable communities of Kumi and Mayuge under the Vulnerable Group Housing Program.

The Sam Mompongo Award is an awarding ceremony by Habitat for Humanity International that recongizes the financial support generated by Habitat’s tithe program around the world. The history of this award can be traced as far as back in 1973 when the tithe cycle began but more specifically in 1979 when Habitat founders Millard and Linda Fuller revisited Zaire after first applying for the “partnership housing” concept. At a home dedication ceremony, Sam Mompongo — an educator and leader who, with the Fullers’ blessing, had expanded the model of enlisting volunteers to help families build houses to his own village — took up a collection and presented Millard Fuller with half of it: $200. Fuller used the money to help start a new Habitat affiliate in Aguacatan, Guatemala.

For more information, visit: www.monroecountyhabitat.org