HABITAT FOR HUMANITY IndiaBUILDS Campaign

The IndiaBUILDS campaign of Habitat for Humanity, aims to provide decent shelter for 250,000 needy people over the next 5 years.

This is an ambitious plan designed to act as a catalyst to improve housing conditions for the many millions of Indian families living in sub-standard conditions.

The goals of IndiaBUILDS
o Create Shelter: create decent homes for 250,000 people directly through Habitat programs and indirectly through partner and community organizations.

o Create Inspiration: mobilize 1 million volunteers, including members of global, Indian and overseas India partner organizations and staff from corporations as well as individual volunteers.

o Create Capital: raise funds from government, supporters, donors and from contributions saving schemes of home partners. Create a community housing revolving fund.

o Create Capacity: establish a network of Habitat resource centers where people can learn how to design and build their own homes.


Types of Partnership

o Habitat serves as a donor with the complete housing component administered by a partner.

o Habitat serves as a donor and provides staff support. The partner directly implements the housing component.

o HFHI serves as a donor and takes charge of construction and volunteer management. The partner manages community participation and government interaction.


John Abraham Campaign

John Abraham Joins Habitat for Humanity’s Campaign for Affordable Housing in India, John's Brigade encourages Indians and NRI’s to get involved Popular Indian film-star John Abraham has joined Habitat for Humanity in a campaign to combat poverty housing in India and around the world. Through a public awareness and volunteer program titled John's Brigade, the movie star and youth icon is encouraging Indian
residents and non-resident Indians around the world to support Habitat for
Humanity's IndiaBUILDS campaign. The goal of the five-year IndiaBUILDS campaign is to put more than 250,000 low-income people in India into safe, decent and affordable homes and to inspire others to champion innovative solutions for the estimated 315 million Indians who lack a decent place to call home. The program also aims to mobilize 1 million volunteers from India and beyond and create capital to build affordable housing in India.

Through public service announcements, Abraham is asking his fans and supporters to join John's Brigade by volunteering their time to build homes and lend their financial support to meet the IndiaBUILDS goal.

“I believe that to be happy in life you need a home. You need to go back to something. You need to go back to those four walls which belong to you, which you belong to,” John said. “We have more than 300 million people in India who lack proper shelter. Habitat for Humanity has come in at the right time and, with the help of John's Brigade, Habitat for Humanity is going to help us build a lot more homes for a lot more people.”


BACKGROUND
Habitat for Humanity International is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. HFHI has built more than 225,000 houses in 100 countries globally, and over 1.1 million people are living in Habitat homes they helped build and which they own through low-cost, no-profit mortgages.

Habitat for Humanity India Trust is a Registered Trust in India. Contributions are exempt under Section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act.

Habitat for Humanity India began operations in 1983 in Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, and is one of Habitat’s largest country programs. There are Habitat resource centers in Bangalore, Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai and satellite centers in the south and east. New partnerships with corporate supporters and NGO partners extend Habitat’s presence to the rest of India.

Habitat delivers its programs through NGO partnerships, satellites, and direct HFH India implementation. Habitat has an active disaster-response program following the December 2004 tsunami, building on earlier disaster relief initiatives in Gujarat where Habitat provided homes following an earthquake in 2001 and rebuilt communities in Cuttack, Orissa, in the aftermath of a super cyclone. Habitat’s tsunami response involves assisting families directly and indirectly through a network of disaster response centers, and in partnership with other organizations.

Habitat house designs and materials vary with climate and locale. Typically, house designs range in size from 240 to 360 sq. ft. and comprise a living room/ bedroom, kitchen and toilet.

HFH India uses a Save & Build housing concept in order to reach more communities in need. Under Save & Build, homeowner families (usually working in groups) save one-third of the cost of the house, with Habitat arranging the balance funds from NGO’s, Corporate’s in India and from HFH International.

There is an active volunteer program involving locally-based individuals committed to community service. HFH India also hosts up to 20 international teams of volunteers from the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia.

Habitat’s current work comes under the umbrella of IndiaBUILDS, a five-year strategic initiative to provide better housing for 250,000 low-income Indian families, and to inspire the involvement of individuals, officials, groups, organizations and the government, to champion innovative housing solutions for the 315 million Indians who lack a decent place to call home.

Contact:
Habitat for Humanity
303, Dhantak Plaza,
3rd Floor, Makwana Lane,
Marol, Andheri East,
Mumbai – 400059
www.habitatindia.in


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