Man with a mission
Habitat for Humanity’s Millard Fuller BY JACKIE KENNEDY  | Millard and Linda Fuller founded Habitat for Humanity International in 1976 and, in their effort to eliminate poverty housing worldwide, have oversen volunteer building of close to 200,000 houses since then. (Photo courtesy of Habitat International) |
Millard Fuller chats amidst the hustle and bustle of a Habitat blitz build, the drone of power tools and pounding of hammers surrounding him as volunteers from throughout the world join to build homes in LaGrange as part of the 2003 Jimmy Carter Work Project. The founder and president of Habitat for Humanity International allows himself only a brief break from manual labor to discuss his mission to help rid the world of poverty housing. “The greatest message you’ll ever deliver is the message of your life,” says Fuller. “Talk is cheap. It’s what you do with your life that counts. The message of Habitat is we don’t just talk and sing about loving our neighbors—we take action.” Based in Americus, where Fuller and his wife Linda live, Habitat for Humanity International has more than 3,000 affiliates in the United States and 100 foreign countries. Founded by the Fullers in 1976, Habitat has built more than 175,000 homes, housing more than 800,000 people worldwide. Accepting a helping hand, not a handout, homeowners assist in building their houses, which they purchase with no-interest loans. Fuller expects to dedicate the 200,000th Habitat house in 2005 and hopes to have twice that many homes completed by Habitat’s 35th anniversary in 2011, housing 2 million people in 400,000 homes. Eliminating poverty housing may sound far-fetched, but Fuller has seen it happen in his own hometown. In 1992, Habitat and other community organizations set a goal to rid Sumter County of substandard housing. Eight years later, the goal was met. Habitat’s 21st Century Challenge grew out of the Sumter County initiative, challenging other communities to conquer substandard housing. “For example, 11,000 families live in LaGrange with 3,000 in substandard housing,” says Fuller. “They set a 20-year goal for having all these families a decent place to live. And we have 100 other cities on board to accept that same challenge.”
 | Millard and Linda meet with the HFH board members and staff at the Dreamland community in Manila this year. (Photo courtesy of Habitat International) |
In the Netherlands, he says, there is no poverty housing; there, Habitat for Humanity concentrates efforts entirely in other countries. “I’d love the day to come when Habitat continues to be a gigantic force in Georgia, but we build exclusively in other states and countries,” he says. “There’s no reason why this rich state should have anyone living in poverty housing. If we’d simply put into practice what we read in our Bibles and hear in our sermons, we’d transform this state and the world. Who would have thought Habitat could do what it’s done already?” At 69, Fuller’s fast-paced walk and tireless energy defy his age. With his wife of 44 years by his side, equally radiating youthful exuberance, he seems more a man eager to enter his destiny rather than one well into it for more than a quarter of a century. Raised in Lanett, Ala., Fuller was 6 when he entered his first business venture—fattening up and selling a pig. Next came chickens, rabbits and cattle. He paid his way through college with money earned from his cattle business and, after graduating from the University of Alabama, opened a law practice in Montgomery, where he and his partner operated mail-order businesses with sales of everything from cookbooks to tractor cushions. Before he reached 30, he was a millionaire with a goal to make $10 million. But soon after, he and Linda felt tugged in a new direction. They sold everything they had, gave the money to charity and, in 1968, moved to Koinonia, a Christian commune that continues to operate near Americus. With commune founder Clarence Jordan, they started Koinonia Partners and the Fund for Humanity. From this project, Habitat for Humanity evolved. “We realized some of our neighbors lived in terrible conditions, and housing was a fundamental need,” says Fuller. “No faith-motivated program was building homes, so that became our niche.”
 | Families in need of decent housing apply to local Habitat affiliates and are chosen based on their level of need and willingness to become partners in the project. |
The Fullers built houses at Koinonia and in Africa before opening headquarters for Habitat for Humanity in Americus in 1976. “When we first got started, people asked, ‘What’s building houses got to do with being a Christian?’” Fuller recalls. “Many Southerners think the great commandment is, ‘Thou shalt go to church’ and the second part is, ‘Thou shalt get others to go to church.’ What Jesus actually teaches is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. If you live in a good house and your neighbor doesn’t, how can you claim to be a Christian unless you help your neighbor get a house?” It boils down to a core teaching of Christianity, says Fuller—that it’s more blessed to give than to receive. “You can see for yourself what a blessing this work is for the volunteers,” he says. “They’re bubbling over with joy and excitement. I’ve heard Jimmy Carter say he’s never felt he was applying his Christian faith more than when building a Habitat house.” What does Fuller most want people to know about himself? “That I’m a poor country boy from Alabama but also incredibly blessed,” he says. “I wake up each day thanking God for this good life and wonderful wife, children and grandchildren. [The Fullers have four children—Christopher, Kim, Faith and Georgia—and seven grandchildren.] Also, that I work with great people in meaningful work. To be part of something that gives significance to people and brings them closer to God is an awesome blessing and privilege.” Clad in blue jeans, hammer swaying from his tool belt, Millard Fuller looks like a typical volunteer on any Habitat worksite. Engaging in conversation, he comes across as the friendly neighbor, hardworking and humble, with a tendency to shift attention from himself to his mission. It becomes apparent he’s as handy with a Bible as with a hammer. His favorite verse is John 3:16. “For God so loved the world, he gave,” says Fuller. “You can stop right there. So often that scripture is read in a rote way. He gave. If love’s about giving and we’re serious in our faith, our lives should be about giving in the real world,” he concludes. “It has to be expressed for it to really be love. Habitat for Humanity is just one huge expression of God’s love.” Jackie Kennedy is a freelance writer living in LaGrange.
‘Briars in the Cotton Patch’ A documentary by Faith Fuller, daughter of Habitat founders Millard and Linda Fuller, delves into the history of Koinonia, untangling the intriguing story of this Christian commune that once stood in the national spotlight. For more information on “Briars in the Cotton Patch: The Story of Koinonia Farm,” visit www.briarsdocumentary.com.
Habitat for Humanity: hitting the highlights • An estimated 25 percent of the world’s population live in substandard housing or have no home at all. Habitat for Humanity believes all people deserve a simple, decent place to live with terms they can afford to pay. • Through volunteer labor and donations, Habitat builds and renovates simple, decent houses with the help of homeowner-families who contribute their own labor. Houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with no-interest loans. Homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments go into a revolving fund used to build more houses. • More than 3,000 Habitat affiliates operate in all 50 U.S. states and 100 other countries. • An ecumenical, international board of directors oversees Habitat for Humanity. Local volunteers manage community affiliates. Families in need of decent housing apply to local affiliates and are chosen based on their level of need and willingness to become partners in the project. • Habitat’s various programs include: • Congress Building America: This program asks every senator and house member to build a Habitat house in his/her district or home state. • Campus chapters: Begun at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in 1987, the program now involves 800 universities and colleges in 28 countries. Students build Habitat houses each year during a Collegiate Spring Challenge. • Youth United: Kicked off in March 2003, this program targets ages 5-25 to build homes. • Habitat for Humanity University (HFHU): In downtown Americus, HFHU identifies and nurtures the next generation of leaders in the movement to eliminate poverty housing. Not a traditional university, HFHU serves as a center for global knowledge management, practical research, advocacy and leadership development. Call the university at (229) 924-6935. For more information, write Habitat for Humanity International at 121 Habitat Street, Americus, GA 31709-3498; call (800) 422-4828; fax them at (229) 924-6541; e-mail info@hfhi.org; or visit their Web site at www.habitat.org.
Global Village welcomes the world The Global Village & Discovery Center in Americus displays houses representing various lifestyles throughout the world. Habitat Founder and President Millard Fuller hopes the 6-acre site near Habitat for Humanity International headquarters will enable visitors to gain a better understanding of what his organization does around the world. “The Global Village & Discovery Center gives people an opportunity to see the simple, decent houses Habitat is building in places like Asia, Africa and South America,” says Fuller. “We want to show the world that people can make a difference—one life, one family and one house at a time.” Volunteers from the United States and 41 other countries assisted in building the first houses in the village, which opened in 2003 and will eventually include 35 homes. “Walking the streets of the Global Village, it really sinks in,” says Fuller. “Children ask mom and dad how the kids who live in these houses keep dry and warm. … Everybody in the world knows in their head that there’s poverty, but for the mind to know something intellectually and feel it in your heart are two different things. With the Global Village, we’re trying to educate the heart as well as the head.” The Global Village & Discovery Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for students 6 and older, and $4 for seniors. For group reservations, call (229) 924-5823 or visit www.habitat.org.
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