Edition One – 2014
Building a better world
In this issue: Rebuilding the Philippines
Safer homes in Bangladesh
Success stories at home
Survey Snapshot Thank you to everyone who completed our 2014 Supporter Survey. We loved hearing your thoughts and are working to incorporate your feedback into what we do. Here’s a snapshot of what you told us. YOU BELIEVE: “EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO A SAFE & DECENT HOME” 60% AGREE 40% OTHER
YOU RANKED THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR WORK: 1 2 3 4
YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HEARING ABOUT:
5 6
(SMALL HOME OR BUSINESS LOANS)
7 8 9
CHANGING A LIFE ONLY TAKES ONE WEEK VOLUNTEER AND BUILD WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Hands and Hearts Build Cambodia 7 – 14 June 2014 Mighty Mekong Builders Vietnam 28 June – 5 July 2014 Tuk-Tuk-tastic Build Thailand 19 – 26 July 2014 www.habitat.org.au/globalvillage/ upcoming-builds 2 Building a better world
Helping families in the Philippines rebuild
The community has banded together to assist with rebuilding efforts
Tacloban City was one of the hardest hit areas
WHAT WE WANT TO DO Build 30,000 homes
It has been over five months since super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines.
affected by Typhoon Haiyan, and we are aiming to provide 30,000 more.
The typhoon was one of the worst natural disasters on record to hit the country. Wind gusts reached 273km/h and storm surges swept away entire neighbourhoods.
In addition to this, we want to build 30,000 new homes in the Visayas, a region which bore the brunt of the storm’s destruction.
Over 6,000 people were killed and 30,000 injured. More than 1 million homes were destroyed or damaged. Families are still living in temporary tents or barracks, without anyone to turn to for help. With millions left homeless, there is an enormous need for materials and tools to repair or rebuild homes. Thanks to your support we have already distributed over 12,000 shelter repairs kits to families
In January 2014, Habitat for Humanity signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Philippines Government’ to build 852 homes on a ten hectare site in Tacloban City. Construction has commenced in Tacloban City, Cebu and Javier, but we need your help to reach our goal. Providing safe and decent homes is critical to getting communities back on their feet. Your support has the potential to make an enormous difference to families who have suffered so much.
Distribute 30,000 shelter repair kits WHAT YOU CAN DO Donate: Visit our website to give families an opportunity to rebuild their lives – www.habitat.org.au/philippines Fundraise: Start your own campaign page on our website and fundraise to help rebuild the Philippines. If you have a birthday or special event coming up, why not ask for donations instead of gifts – www.habitat.org.au/ support-us/fundraise Share on social media: We’re raising awareness across Facebook and Twitter. Like or follow us and help spread the word – www.facebook.com/ habitatforhumanityaustralia or www.twitter.com/HabitatAu
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Training creates healthier, happier lives in Cambodia PROGRESS IN SIEM REAP: • 308 people across 12 villages participated in a sanitation and hygiene training session
Earng inspires others to live healthy lives
Your support has helped improve the health and wellbeing of community members across 15 villages and eight schools in Angkor Chum, Siem Reap. We have been working with families, particularly children, to demonstrate proper hygiene and sanitation practices. This type of training triggers behavioural changes which will make a lasting impact in the area, as participants pass on their knowledge to family and friends. Earng is a 43 year-old widow with two sons. She was chosen by fellow community members to be
part of a Habitat for Humanity supported Sanitation Action Group. As part of the Group, she leads by example and teaches primary school children and their families about personal hygiene and sanitation.
• Nearly all of the participants have reported back that they now wash their hands with soap before preparing food, eating and after using the toilet • Open defecation has reduced by 60% • Diarrhoea has decreased by 40% in families who have participated in training • 1,260 families have improved access to safe drinking water
“I WANT TO SEE MY PEOPLE LIVING HEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS LIVES,” SAID EARNG 80 out of 140 families in Earng’s community now have access to a toilet and almost everyone has improved sanitation practices.
Communities now have improved access to clean water
Building blocks for a brighter future in Indonesia We have just reached the half way mark in our construction project in Bitung, Indonesia. We are building homes for 106 families who are living in the Klabat Camp, after being displaced from their homes due to conflict. HERE’S WHAT YOU’VE HELPED US DO SO FAR:
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60 HOUSES COMPLETED ANOTHER 46 ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION 68 SEPTIC TANKS AND 60 TOILETS INSTALLED
A new project begins in Vietnam! THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON:
Your generous support means families like Le Thi and Thi Huong’s will soon have new homes and bright futures!
Late last year we asked you to help us expand the Nine Dragons project to help the community of Tien Giang in Vietnam.
Families remain trapped in an endless cycle of temporary repairs and must constantly reinvest their income into mending their homes.
Families in Tien Giang live in dilapidated homes, and with no access to clean water they are often sick and unable to work or attend school.
But, thanks to the generosity of people like you, we have begun working with 165 families in Tien Giang to make their homes safer and their families healthier.
• Repairing or building homes that can withstand typhoons and flooding • Constructing toilets to improve health and hygiene • Building wells or connecting homes to existing water supplies • Training community members to be better prepared to respond to natural disasters • Helping families be healthier through safe water, sanitation and hygiene training • Assist families to generate income through livelihood training
Empowering communities in Nepal Despite being freed from indentured labour 14 years ago, ex-Kamaiya families remained trapped in poverty with no access to clean water and toilets, unsafe housing and little paid work. In late 2012, we began working with the ex-Kamaiya community of Manahara. We helped families build wells and toilets and provided training on proper health and hygiene. We also offered community members construction training to provide them with income generation opportunities. Lalmati used to work as an unskilled labourer, but since completing well construction training, she now earns more than double her old wage by digging wells in neighbouring villages.
Lalmati’s family now has a toilet and shares a new well with a neighbour. “I don’t have to go to the toilet in the jungle anymore. I feel awesome about having a well and being able to grow vegetables with the extra water I have.” Lalmati hopes to build a better house for her family and has started saving money by selling her extra vegetables and rearing goats. Thanks to the generous support of people like you, we are now about to begin working another 437 ex-Kamaiya families.
Lalmati using her new well
HERE’S WHAT WE’LL BE WORKING ON: • Building 437 toilets • Constructing 219 wells • Distributing 437 hygiene kits • Training 800 community members on health and hygiene • Providing livelihood training to one member of each household Building a better world 5
Building hope at home
New South Wales
Western Australia
We’ve been running the Brush with Kindness program in the Blue Mountains to help families affected by last October’s devastating bushfires. We’ve helped 15 families in their recovery, including Carolyn. Carolyn lost everything in the fires including her six cats. She had only moved into her house three months prior and finished unpacking the weekend before the fires. Our volunteers cleared burnt debris and trees around Carolyn’s home. They even created a flower memorial for her cats. Carolyn was overwhelmed with the result, as were our volunteers who were thrilled to give back to someone who had lost so much.
Rodelyn, Rik and their three children will be the recipients of the first home in our in Seville Grove project in Perth. “This house will make a huge difference to us as a family,” says Rodelyn. Having a place to call their own will greatly help they couple who have a son who is severely disabled and has complex needs. The family is grateful that their new house will be able to meet their child’s needs and are excited to assist in the building process.
South Australia
Victoria
One of Habitat for Humanity’s early partner families, Peter and Sally have finished their loan repayments, meaning they officially own their Habitat Home! The family partnered with Habitat for Humanity in 2002 to buy and refurbish a duplex. 12 years later, Peter feels overcome by the significance of what they have achieved and the impact it has made on their lives. “It’s been a blessing knowing we won’t have to move again,” said Peter. “We couldn’t have done it without [Habitat for Humanity].”
This February marked the 5th anniversary of the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria. Throughout the past five years, Habitat for Humanity has been running the Brush With Kindness program, working on over 100 projects with more than 1,800 volunteers putting in nearly 12,000 hours. We’ve been able to help families like Terry and Linda’s get back on their feet. After suffering great losses, Terry and Linda are overjoyed to have a decent place to call their own at the Yea Heights estate.
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Ways to help DONATE Your donation will help us carry out vital work building homes and communities at home and across the Asia Pacific region. Visit www.habitat.org.au/donate BUY A HABITATGIFT When you give a loved one a HabitatGift, you’re also giving hope to those most in need. Buy your HabitatGift online at www.habitat.org.au/habitatgifts
BECOME A HOPEBUILDER Your monthly gift will help us commit to long-term projects, and together we can transform families and communities. To become a HopeBuilder call 1800 88 55 99 or visit www.habitat.org.au/donate/ monthly BECOME A LEGACYBUILDER Help give families a safe, secure place to call home by leaving a bequest to Habitat for Humanity Australia in your Will. To learn more, call 1800 88 55 99 or visit www. habitat.org.au/donate/bequest
VOLUNTEER OVERSEAS WITH GLOBAL VILLAGE Change the world while you travel. Learn more at www.habitat.org.au/globalvillage VOLUNTEER IN AUSTRALIA Lend a hand here in Australia. Find out more at www.habitat.org.au/get-involved
JOIN US FOR OUR 2014 GALA DINNER TO GIVE HOPE & TRANSFORM LIVES WHEN: 6PM FRIDAY 23 MAY 2014 WHERE: IVY BALLROOM LEVEL 1, 320 GEORGE ST SYDNEY COST: $200 PER PERSON / $1800 PER PRIVATE TABLE OF 10 BUY YOUR TICKET TODAY VISIT OUR WEBSITE WWW.HABITAT.ORG.AU/GALADINNER OR CALL 1800 88 55 99
Global Village Volunteer Snapshot
“This photo shows a happy volunteer from the local community putting in some hard work during the 2013 build in Nepal. The success of Habitat’s work depends on all its volunteers. As a volunteer from Australia, I have helped build a community centre for a disadvantaged community in rural Nepal. I am proud to be part of a revolutionary process which not only builds shelters, but more importantly transforms people’s lives by building capacity and instilling hope for a better future.” Niruma, Global Village Volunteer
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Creating safer homes in Bangladesh Thanks to our generous supporters, we are helping improve living conditions for 4,800 people in some of the worst slums in Bangladesh. Shabana lives in the Talab Camp slum in Dhaka. She supports her four children by producing decorative bead work for shoes. Shabana used to work from home, on a mud floor, without a locking door to protect her family. Through our Urban Resiliency Program, we have been able to upgrade homes like Shabana’s so she now has a cement floor and a solid steel, lockable door. Children in Talab camp put new hygiene habits into practice
ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE: 36 homes repaired A 2000 litre water tank installed and underground pipes repaired 14 community toilets repaired, including the creation of a female only block Shabana now has access to clean water in her home
250 people attended construction training
What are we doing in Sri Lanka? Many families in Eastern and Northern Sri Lanka are facing issues over land ownership as a result of the civil war and the 2004 tsunami. To help overcome land disputes, communities need to be able to understand their rights, the current laws and what avenues are open to them to try and resolve their problems. We’ve been providing training and workshops to build awareness on land right issues and offer support for 8 Building a better world
families involved in disputes. Awareness raising workshops have helped families like Radicala’s. Radicala and her family have lived in a community with 50 households for the past 50 years. They are now faced with eviction from someone claiming to be the original land owner. Radicala attended the workshop to understand what her family’s rights are under the land law and how they should proceed.
“Everyone is feeling good and happy something has been done for the community,” said Shabana. “Before we would struggle to collect water,” she adds. But now, her family has access to clean water through a community well and an in-home water filter. They, along with hundreds of other community members also attended training sessions to keep their families healthy and improve the living conditions of their home through proper waste management.