Houses Built on Strong Foundations.

IN SEVERAL NICARAGUAN communities hit hard by Hurricane Mitch, families who lost their homes have been working together to build new houses and rebuild their lives.

The OAS is coordinating the construction of more than twelve hundred adobe homes in the municipalities of Wiwili and Paiwas, in the north-central part of the country. The program will be expanded to include nearby Quilali and Siuna as well.

The houses are simple, two-bedroom structures built out of low-tech materials so that people can later add on rooms if they wish. Community buildings, such as schools, health centers, and recreational facilities, will also be included in the program, as will water and sewage systems.

Anyone left homeless by last year's hurricane is eligible for the community-built housing, though priority is being given to people in the most difficult circumstances, such as large families and widows with children. Local committees in each community select the program beneficiaries.

Those who will receive the houses do the work themselves. They first form a committee to determine work schedules and the division of labor. Once a group of houses is completed, a lottery determines...