Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) has unveiled an ambitious plan to respond to the large-scale devastation from the December 26^th tsunami in south-east Asia, India and north Africa.

Immediately following the disaster, members of Habitat for Humanity International’s Disaster Relief Team joined Habitat for Humanity Asia/Pacific staff in assessing the situation and developing short-and long-term responses, as well as assisting in the vital need for emergency shelter and support.

	Save and Build group member W.Somawathi stands on HFH house foundation where rebuilding began this week for her family. Somawathi's husband was one of the tsunami casualties.(Photo: Kim MacDonald/Habitat for Humanity International)

HFHI’s Initial Response Plan involves building transitional and permanent housing in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand where Habitat for Humanity already has affiliates. The first phase of this process will be to build 25,000 homes in these countries, with an immediate priority of moving families out of overcrowded, disease- and crime-ridden camps. In the longer term, HFHI plans to help tens of thousands of families to move to transitional and permanent housing. Long-term plans will be developed in conjunction with HFH affiliates in each country, based on ongoing needs and existing partnerships.

Transitional housing plans will consist of a 250 square foot one-room structure with a veranda or covered working space and basic sanitary facilities. Each home will cost approximately $500 US and will not require repayment.

While the reconstruction timeline is different in each country, building is already underway in Sri Lanka where 20 per cent of existing HFH homes were destroyed, while living conditions for other families became deplorable, and the already long waiting list for Habitat homes has swelled.

Habitat house neighbour in southern Sri Lanka surveys the debris that is all that remains of his house.(Photo: Kim MacDonald/Habitat for Humanity International)

Various programs will be employed including Habitat’s Save and Build program where up to 12 families save together to build one Habitat house at a time until all the families have homes. Another initiative is the development of Building and Training Centres using the model of the existing centre in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Batticaloa’s centre was developed five years ago as a means of keeping building costs low and providing income for Habitat homeowners. Post-tsunami, this centre is operating three shifts each day to provide 3,600 concrete blocks every 24 hours for the rebuilding process.

As the magnitude of the disaster and loss of life in Asia became apparent in the hours and days which followed the December 26 tsunami, Habitat for Humanity Canada (HFHC) along with Habitat for Humanity International issued an emergency fundraising appeal to help with recovery and rebuilding.

The Asia Tsunami Response Fund will be used to fund the long-term reconstruction of homes and communities affected by the tsunami crisis. More than 225,000 people are known to have been killed, with potentially 5,000,000 people being displaced from their homes. Habitat for Humanity will play an important and much-needed role in the long-term reconstruction process.

Habitat for Humanity International’s Initial Response Plan, which was released on January 20, 2005, details a plan to build transitional housing for 25,000 families in the short-term. This project will cost an estimated $25 million US; to date, $8.6 million US has been donated to HFHI and its partners around the world for the tsunami rebuilding process.

Habitat for Humanity Canada is actively assisting with HFH International's fundraising efforts and rebuilding programs. Canadians wishing to support HFH International's fundraising appeal may do so by making donations through Habitat for Humanity Canada, and have their donations recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency.

Habitat for Humanity Canada has been advised that the best support that can be provided for the next few months is in the form of financial contributions.

You can contribute locally to help relief and recovery efforts throughout the Indian Ocean region. Habitat for Humanity Canada will forward all designated contributions to the Asia Tsunami Response Fund, to help families rebuild. Click here to donate online or follow this link to contribute by phone or mail.

In a communiqué to Habitat for Humanity Canada's 65 affiliates and their 30,000 volunteers, David Hughes, President and CEO said, "Let me thank you and others across Canada who have offered your support for the victims of the tragic tsunami crisis.”

All individuals interested in volunteering in the affected regions later this spring and in the subsequent months, are urged to add their name to a growing database of like-minded individuals. Please complete the information form on the HFH Canada web site.

By Cecilia Lauzon

2004 was a year of first steps for many Canadian Habitat for Humanity affiliates. Some fledgling affiliates built their first house, while others opened Re-Stores.  Each step enabled more families to be able to become Habitat for Humanity Partner Families. In 2004, 170 partner families moved into Habitat for Humanity homes across Canada or will be moving in the next few weeks as homes built over the winter are completed.

In the summer of 2004, work was started on the first house ever built by Habitat for Humanity in the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario area. By fall, Steve and Katrina and their three young daughters had moved in.

Steve is a hard-working family man who has toiled hard to support his family. A sudden and severe illness several years ago, however, left Steve’s heart so damaged that he required a heart transplant. A donor heart was found for Steve in time, and he was able to successfully undergo life-saving surgery. Medical costs mounted and ate up the money they had saved to buy a home. Katrina, Steve’s wife, applied for a Habitat for Humanity house and they were accepted. What joy this has brought them and the community. That small step evolved into many new and exciting changes for the family.

Steve and Katrina’s is one of many stories from the last year. Each of the 170 new Habitat families experienced challenges and struggles, but also a sense of hope from the generosity of fellow Canadians who worked alongside them to make the dream of home-ownership a reality.

By David Butler, Acting Vice President, Marketing & Development

This past year proved to be one of the busiest and most successful in the history of Habitat for Humanity in Canada.  Volunteers across Canada, stepping forward to tackle a goal of increasing all efforts by at least one-half over 2003, reached a remarkable 85 percent increase in building efforts.  Well done, everyone.

Affiliate Firsts:

·         Brand new Habitat Re-Stores were opened in:  Wellington County, ON; Salmon Arm, BC; Charlottetown, PEI; Northumberland, ON; Kamloops, BC; Peterborough, ON; Sudbury, ON; and Victoria, BC

·         First builds for: HFH Comox Valley (Courtenay, BC), a semi-detached blitz-build too; HFH Mountainview (Olds, AB); HFH Brampton (ON); HFH North Durham (Uxbridge, ON)

·         Largest blitz build for HFH Toronto

·         First Women Build for HFH Saskatoon

·         85% growth in Home Building, exceeding the Goal of 150 with 170 new housing starts

·         25% growth in the National Annual Fund and national capacity-building

·         100% expansion of the National Gifts-In-Kind Program

·         Exceeded “Vision 2005” goals of 850 total homes by 2004 by 37, at 887

·         National Women Build Project, Saskatoon

·         Established HFHC National Women Build Council

·         28% increase (8) in the number of ReStores – now 37 coast to coast

·         Expanded the number (now 65) and capacity of many Affiliates

·         Approximately 30,000 volunteers involved with Affiliates, a 20% growth

·         Expanded volunteer and staff training programs; Initiated new health and safety programs, and published a “SHE” manual for volunteers

·         Expanded bilingual services, campus chapter services, faith community partnerships; web site now bilingual

·         Provided leadership in the design of, and ratified, a new bi-lateral Covenant agreement with Habitat for Humanity International

·         Implemented a Mortgage Acceleration Program (mortgage backed securitization), a collaborative effort to fund incremental housing starts in Affiliates across Canada

We are just under one month into the new year and Habitat for Humanity is on fire across Canada.  In just two weeks, more than 230 Canadians have signed up as potential volunteers for rebuilding programs in SE Asia, and hundreds more have donated to the Tsunami Response Fund.  This is just the beginning of a multi-year effort to rebuild thousands of shattered lives.

In cities, towns and rural regions across Canada, new volunteers are telephoning their local Habitat affiliates, eager to participate in any way they can.  We are all going to have one beautiful year.

·         Exceed 1,000 total Habitat Homes in Canada (“Vision 2005” goals)

·         Build minimum of 170 housing units (current projections are 185 to 200)

·         Tsunami Response – partner with HFH International with funding and volunteers

·         Grow Annual Fund and National Gifts-In-Kind Program by 10-20%

·         Partnership with HFH International and Jimmy Carter Work Project in Michigan with HFH Windsor-Essex (with Detroit Affiliate), in June 2005 – 6 homes

·         Promote an anticipated 2+ high profile national Women Build projects

·         Continued expansion of Affiliates and ReStore locations – 5 to 10  anticipated respectively

·         Launch “Leaders Building A Nation” campaign and tour for 2006

·         Expand communication programs, affordable housing issues

·         Reach out to young Canadians through Campus Chapters & Youth Programs

Decent, affordable housing is a great need world-wide.  Here in Canada, almost one in six children lives in poverty.  While rental prices and the cost of living continue to soar, minimum wages and government spending to increase payments for the unemployed and disabled have not kept pace.  A quarter of a million working families are falling even further below the poverty level.

Canada ranks only 15^th highest out of the world’s 19 most prosperous countries in the proportion of children living in poverty.  Unfortunately, a country’s wealth is not the only factor that predetermines its ability to prevent children from falling into poverty.  Families are becoming the fastest growing population requiring emergency shelters.

Stable and affordable housing is absolutely essential for healthy child and family development.  Sadly, the statistics show that children in poverty housing are twice as likely to have poor vision, hearing, mobility, speech, dexterity, and cognition (memory and reasoning ability).  Low self-esteem and school grades are also more prevalent.  Amazingly, these problems can and do improve when decent housing is made available to families.

The story above of Steve, Katrina and their three young daughters demonstrates that with a helping hand, one in six children do not have to remain in poverty.  By the end of 2005, more than 1,000 Canadian families like theirs will have been helped by Habitat for Humanity Canada volunteers from coast to coast.

Whether you are a Habitat for Humanity Canada volunteer, donor or friend, thank you for your efforts to provide families with housing, be it supporting the relief efforts for countries affected by the December 26^th tsunami, or here, closer to home.  Your compassion has touched the lives of many—those suffering great loss and those struggling to live day by day.  Together, we are making a difference for every precious life we touch.   Again, thank you.

In the spirit of partnership,

David W. Hughes

President & CEO

Habitat for Humanity Canada

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