Bolivia, relatively unknown to many North Americans, is the poorest country in South America. With a population of 8 million, almost 2/3rds of Bolivians live in poverty. Approximately 
60% of Bolivians live in basic shelters with no electricity or basic sanitary services. Over 30% of the population live over 3 to a room. These conditions give rise to alarmingly high rates of malaria and disease.
To complicate matters, those fortunate few who have managed to build a "house" use materials such as thatch and mud. In Bolivia, a bug called Vinchuca that lives in thatch and mud bites peoples' faces at night, sucks their blood, and causes a disease known as chagas which kills approximately 50,000 people annually. Vinchuca cannot live in cement bricks and the other materials Habitat Bolivia uses to build homes.
Safe housing is a life or death issue in Bolivia. I hope you'll join me in bringing a safe home to families in Villamontes, Bolivia.
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