Evgenia Anachkova resides in Sofia.  But until recently, she didn't really have a home.  With buckling floors, crumbling walls, broken doorframe and drafty windows, Evgenia, her mother and her four children, aged 11 to 18, did not possess what one considers decent living conditions. That was last September. Now, her beautiful apartment boasts new windows, hidden, but powerful insulation, a stronger foundation, new doorframes, freshly painted walls and repaired plumbing.

"There's no way I could have done this on my own," says Evgenia.  `It's a dream come true. We're so happy, I don't even know how to describe it."  

 And there's more where that came from: home renovations and happy families. Last September, Habitat for Humanity Sofia (HFHS), in partnership with the Bulgarian Fund for Women (BFW) started SHE, a one-year pilot programme to provide home renovations for 10 single mothers. The programme is designed to encourage personal initiative and mutual support, targeting women who are willing to solve their own problems and volunteer to help the other programme participants.

Executed by both volunteers and paid professionals, renovations include painting, dry-walling, tiling, plumbing, insulation, window sealing and replacement, foundation repair and much more, all of which cannot exceed 3000 leva.  This interest-free loan is then paid back to Habitat for Humanity over a five-year period.

To be eligible, a woman must be the financial head of her household, own her own home, have no other existing property of assets, prove to a panel of experts that the repairs are necessary to create normal living conditions and decrease maintenance and heating expenses, and most of all, be willing to work on the renovation of their own home as well as those of other SHE participants.

Elena Lazarus, Global Village and volunteer co-ordinator, HFHS and Daniela Chotova, deputy executive director, HFHS were there to unveil the finished product for the Anachkova family.  "When Evgenia's mother saw the living room, she started crying," said Elena.  "I was so happy that Habitat could make such a difference in this family's life."

Right now, the implementation of the SHE programme is of crucial importance because of the serious housing damage caused by last year's floods and the limited available state aid.  An estimated two million Bulgarians suffered because of the disasters; 10 000 houses were destroyed or in need of serious repairs, and 12 000 people found themselves homeless for the winter.

With the financial support of BFW and HFHS's co-ordination and volunteerism, the SHE project has completed three renovation projects and is now selecting candidates for the next seven women.

A member of the Women's Funding Network, the Bulgarian Fund for Women is an independent organisation, which, through championing and strengthening the establishment of women's rights organisations in Bulgaria, aims to achieve real gender equality and combat all forms of discrimination.  Learn more at www.gender-bg.org.

Founded in 1976, in the US state of Georgia, Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit ecumenical Christian based organisation with a mission to provide safe, decent and affordable homes to families in need.  Currently, there are Habitat programmes in 100 countries, and in July 2005, Habitat completed its 200 000th house. All families receiving Habitat houses are selected trough a transparent and non-discriminatory procedure.  Each family is required to demonstrate need, inability to access traditional housing assistance, a willingness to provide a pre-determined number of "sweat equity" hours on theirs as well as other Habitat homes, and the ability to repay the interest-free loan over a certain number of years.  Habitat for Humanity Sofia was officially opened in 2001, and thanks to volunteers from Global Village, Peace Corps, American College in Sofia, American University in Bulgaria, Habitat for Humanity Romania, Youth with a Mission and the International Women's Club of Sofia, they dedicated their first eight-family home in September, 2005. In addition to the SHE project, they have purchased land in Kostinbrod, south of Sofia, and are preparing for their second construction project in spring, 2006.

 If you'd like to volunteer your time on construction, office work, publicity or fundraising for Habitat for Humanity Sofia, please contact Elena Lazarus at 0898628020 or visit www.habitat-sofia.org. for more information.