The concept that grew into Habitat for Humanity was born in the USA at Koinonia Farm, a small, interracial, Christian farming community. Koinonia Farm was founded in 1942 outside of Americus, Georgia, by farmer and biblical scholar Clarence Jordan and others to promote racial reconciliation.
Millard and his wife Linda first visited Koinonia in 1965, having recently left a successful business in Montgomery, Alabama, and all the trappings of an affluent lifestyle to begin a new life of Christian service. At Koinonia, Jordan and Fuller developed the concept of "partnership housing" where those in need of adequate shelter would work side by side with volunteers to build simple, decent houses.
The houses would be built with no profit added and no interest charged. Building would be financed by a revolving “Fund for Humanity”. The fund's money would come from the new homeowners' house payments, donations and no-interest loans provided by supporters and money earned by fund-raising activities. The monies in the Fund for Humanity would be used to build more houses.

A Test In Zaire
In 1973, the Fullers decided to apply the Fund for Humanity concept in developing countries. The Fuller family moved to Mbandaka, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). The Fullers' goal was to offer affordable yet adequate shelter to 2,000 people. After three years of hard work to launch a successful house-building program, the Fullers returned to the USA.

The Birth Of Habitat for Humanity International
In September 1976, Millard and Linda called together a group of supporters to discuss the future of their dream. Habitat for Humanity International as an organization was born at this meeting. The eight years that followed, vividly described in Millard Fuller's book, Love in the Mortar Joints, proved that the vision of a housing ministry was workable. Faith, hard work and direction set Habitat for Humanity on its successful course.

Phenomenal Growth
In 1984, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former US president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn took their first Habitat work trip, the Jimmy Carter Work Project, to New York City. Their personal involvement in Habitat's ministry brought the organization national visibility and sparked interest in Habitat's work across the nation. Habitat for Humanity experienced a dramatic increase in the number of new affiliates around the country.

The Results
Through the work of Habitat, thousands of low-income families have found new hope in the form of affordable housing. Churches, community groups and others have joined together to successfully tackle a significant social problem -- decent housing for all.
Today, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 220,000 houses, sheltering more than one million people in thousands of communities in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Habitat for Humanity International began working in the Asia-Pacific region in 1983 with a pilot program in Khammam, India. Since then, Habitat has built and rehabilitated more than 45,700 homes and served nearly 230,000 people around the region (as of December 2006). Every year thousands of other families are helped with repairs, and financial and technical assistance.
In addition, up to 30,000 families are expected to benefit from Habitat programs to help victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami.
Habitat for Humanity has large active programs in Philippines, where more than 15,000 families have decent homes thanks to Habitat. In India, more than 12,000 families have benefited from Habitat projects. Habitat for Humanity Sri Lanka has built and renovated nearly 7,000 homes while Papua New Guinea has topped the 1,100 mark.
There are fast growing programs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Habitat for Humanity manages an Asia-Pacific mortgage loan portfolio valued at more than US$29 million.
The Habitat name can be found in such places as Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste (East Timor), Vanuatu and Vietnam.
In Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong (part of Habitat for Humanity China), Habitat is principally involved in fund-raising, advocacy and organizing volunteers. There are limited building repair activities.

Function:
Habitat for Humanity International builds, rehabilitates and repairs simple, decent houses with the help of homeowner (known as “partner”) families, volunteer labor, and donations of money and materials. Architects, engineers, bricklayers, mason, carpenters and other professionals and skilled workers are employed for specialist jobs.
The cost of the work varies. A new house can cost from as little as US$1,000 in some parts of Asia. Costs depend on location, labor, land and material costs, and ancillary development expenses.
Habitat houses are sold to home partner families at no profit. Home partners repay through affordable, no-profit, inflation-adjusted mortgage loans. Mortgage lengths vary from four to 30 years, though most are around six to eight years. Their monthly mortgage payments go into a local revolving fund to be used to build still more Habitat homes. In short, Habitat for Humanity is not a “giveaway” program.
Home partners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor – “sweat equity” – into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. Home partner families are selected based on their level of need, their ability to repay the loan and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat.
Additional “muscle” for construction comes from volunteers from within the country or all over the world. Volunteers hail from corporations, churches, schools, among other organizations. Some projects involve “speed building” where one home, or a community of homes, are worked on by a large number of volunteers over a weekend or a week. The annual Jimmy Carter Work Projects are major volunteer events.
Habitat for Humanity's work in the region is accomplished by its Habitat Resource Centers, affiliates and partner organizations.
Habitat Resource Centers broaden the reach of Habitat’s home-building programs in one or more of these principal services  construction services; skills training; disaster response and housing microfinance.
Affiliates are independent, locally-run, non-profit volunteer groups. They secure building sites, organizes mortgage services, fund-raising and donations of materials, as well as house construction using volunteers and sometimes paid specialist construction workers.
Partner organizations contribute expertise and/or financial resources, and often volunteer labor to strengthen the impact of Habit’s programs. Other groups, particularly non-governmental organizations and government-linked bodies, contribute services and facilities that Habitat home partner families need to live fully transformed lives in thriving and secure communities.
The work of the affiliates and resource centers in a country is coordinated and supported by national offices. These legally independent entities are overseen by their own boards of directors or trustees and staffed by experts in construction technology, financial management, resource development and fund raising.
Habitat uses a variety of innovative approaches to funding and offers a variety of ways for partner families to become Habitat homeowners

For details : Habitat for Humanity