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Millard Fuller
One Man, A Million Lives: Habitat for
Humanity International’s founder and president Millard Fuller
proves that one person can make a difference in the world
by Duane Bates
Nearing the age of 70, Millard Fuller still electrifies any room
he enters. Standing six feet four inches tall, with an
unassuming smile and an engaging Southern accent, the
charismatic founder of Habitat for Humanity International exudes
confidence. This confidence comes in handy as he trots across
the country and around the world speaking at schools, churches,
rallies – anywhere he can tell people what a simple, decent home
can mean to a family in need.
“Millard has a truly unique ability to reach out and engage
an audience when he speaks about Habitat for Humanity,” says
David Williams, chief operating officer and executive vice
president of Habitat for Humanity International. “He got this
ministry off the ground and he has worked relentlessly,
inspiring people to care about their communities and to get
involved.” Since founding the largest nonprofit U.S. homebuilder
in 1976, Millard has led the group that builds affordable homes
in partnership with families. He describes Habitat’s work as a
hand up and not a handout, because new homeowners help to build
their houses as well as pay a no-profit, no-interest mortgage.
Through the program, more than 160,000 homes have been built in
92 countries, helping an estimated 800,000 people escape poverty
housing.
This global growth is evidence of years of hard work and
dedication, and the tall Southerner is the first person to admit
that Habitat’s core strength lies in its thousands of volunteers
who make up the movement to eradicate poverty housing. Habitat’s
grassroots effort brings together corporations, churches,
students, civic groups, and individuals to build the homes,
keeping costs down. After being established in Americus,
Georgia, Habitat's first affiliate was formed by concerned
people in San Antonio, Texas, in 1976 who began volunteering
their time to build affordable homes in the city. Later, Dr.
Gary Cook, current president of Dallas Baptist University, and a
group of students formed the first campus chapter for habitat at
Baylor University in 1987 to give students an opportunity to
help fundraise and build Habitat homes. The Campus Chapter
program has now spread worldwide. It is Millard’s focused drive
that has continued to fuel Habitat for Humanity’s rapid
expansion and goal of housing one million people in 200,000
homes around the world by 2005.
However, Fuller’s drive was not always aimed at helping poor
families. As a lawyer and businessman from Alabama, he was
anxious to get rich after finishing law school. To achieve this
goal, Millard went into business as an attorney and
entrepreneur, driving himself to become a millionaire by age 29.
“I went into business with a fellow student from the
University of Alabama who shared my ambition,” recalls Fuller.
“We came up with a mission statement for our new enterprise on
the first day of our relationship; it was simple and direct: ‘To
get rich!’” The same drive for success and wealth almost cost
Millard his family. He worked long hours, becoming estranged
from his wife, Linda. The more money he made, the more he
worked, and the further away his family drifted.
“I got on the wrong path and became consumed with making more
money. I was married to my work. My wife and children had all
the material possessions that they could ever want,” says
Millard. “But one day I found myself sitting on the edge of my
king-size bed listening to my wife, Linda, tell me she didn’t
love me any more and that she was considering a divorce.”
To save their marriage, Millard and Linda agreed drastic
changes were necessary. They decided to divest themselves of
their material possessions and give the money to the poor. Many
of their friends and family encouraged them not to, yet they
knew it was the right choice. Millard describes the life
changing decision as deeply spiritual. He wanted to embrace his
Christian roots and seek God’s will.
This path led Fuller and his family to rural southwest
Georgia where the idea of partnership housing was born. The
first houses were built with poor families in the area who had
been living in shacks that lacked modern conveniences such as
indoor plumbing and heating.
Dr. Margaret Eskew of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia,
has been a volunteer since the early days of Habitat for
Humanity and has watched Millard’s transformation into a dynamic
and visionary leader.
“Millard is a gifted and inspirational leader who could have
used his phenomenal intellect and business acumen to build a
personal empire,” says Eskew. “He chose instead to apply his
genius and expertise to solve one of the world’s most pressing
problems: decent and affordable shelter for all.”
Since those first houses went up, Habitat has grown into the
19th largest nonprofit in the country and has impacted nearly
one million lives. For Fuller, the one millionth home-building
partner will not only represent a great accomplishment but also
a chance to start building homes in partnership with another
million people.
“I see life as both a gift and a responsibility,” says
Millard. “My responsibility is to use what God has given me to
help His people in need.”
Fuller has written 10 books about his life and work with
Habitat for Humanity. His most recent book, Building Materials
for Life, Vol. II, is a collection of 40 inspirational essays on
subjects such as hope, direction in life, and true worth.
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Left: Millard Fuller and
Habitat for Humanity volunteers raise the wall of a
Habitat house in Greenville, S.C. |
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