Habitat for Humanity welcomed 136 international volunteers to several locations in the Asia-Pacific region, where they worked alongside community members and local families building their own decent, affordable houses. They are the first volunteers from the AP region that the housing nonprofit has hosted since it suspended its Global Village volunteer program in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are thrilled to welcome seven volunteer teams from Japan and Korea to various locations in Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam where they will help build or repair houses or work on communal facilities alongside future Habitat for Humanity homeowners. We are grateful for the volunteers’ faithfulness and energy as they support Habitat’s mission of building strength and stability through shelter,” said Luis Noda, Vice-President for Asia-Pacific, Habitat for Humanity International.
From March to June, Habitat will host regional volunteers from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea to build on one of its project sites in Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Habitat’s country programs in those locations underwent an accreditation process to ensure a safe, meaningful experience for volunteers, and local families and communities.
Than, 65, was among the people who worked with Habitat volunteers in Phnom Penh. A widow, she lived with three of her seven children in a small house. During the day, the family suffered from extreme heat in the house, which was built with wooden planks and a roof made of old tin and plastic sheeting. During the rainy season, rainwater dripped into the house. “I was most worried about being electrocuted when everything in the house was wet,” said Than, whose son died of electrocution many years ago.
With help from a team of Japanese volunteers, Than is confident that her house has become much safer for her family. “I feel the new house will be great for my family to live in. It is built high above the ground, so I no longer have to worry about flooding,” she said.
Akira, a Japanese volunteer from Sapporo, Japan, first volunteered with Habitat in Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2019. Now a senior university student, he returned to Cambodia eager to help. He said, “I realized that volunteering can be helpful to people. I may not be a big, famous person to save the world, but I can serve people little by little. This is my passion and my motivation.”
About Habitat for Humanity
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in U.S.A. Since its founding in 1976, the housing organization has grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in more than 70 countries. In the Asia-Pacific region since 1983, Habitat for Humanity has supported millions of people to build or improve a place they can call home. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit habitat.org/asiapacific.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Angeli Alba-Pascual
AAlba@habitat.org
+63 920 956 3376
Ms. Michele Soh
MSoh@habitat.org
+65 9233 1544.