Jonathan Reckford’s Remarks

World Habitat Day, Columbia University, New York City
October 3, 2005

The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

This year, Habitat for Humanity International joined with UN-Habitat and the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at Earth Institute at Columbia University and the Rockefeller Foundation in New York City to commemorate the theme of World Habitat Day 2005: Millennium Development Goals and the City. The theme was chosen by the United Nations as a reminder of the goals set by world leaders in 2000 to address poverty, illiteracy, hunger, unsafe water, disease and urban and environmental degradation. One of those goals, Goal 7, Target 11, addresses the need to improve the lives of people living in urban slums around the world.

The day began with a tour by UN delegates and other VIPs of a Habitat for Humanity-New York City project in Harlem. The renovated, five-story brick and brownstone apartment building will soon provide quality, affordable homes for six Harlem families. Following a multi-faith blessing and tree planting in the building’s newly landscaped backyard, the group gathered on the campus of Columbia University for a reflection of the global needs for affordable housing.

Speakers included Judith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation; Elliot Sclar, Sclar, director of the Institute for Urban Planning at Columbia University; and Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford. Video and written messages were made from Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, director of UN-Habitat, and Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations, respectively. Jeffery Sachs, director of the Earth Institute, Center for Sustainable Development, Columbia University, and author of “The End of Poverty,” delivered the keynote speech.

Following are Jonathan Reckford’s remarks:

My sincere thanks to Columbia University, UN-Habitat and the Rockefeller Foundation for sponsoring this event with Habitat for Humanity, and to all of you for joining us here on World Habitat Day.

It is humbling to be with so many experts and I’m honored to represent Habitat for Humanity. This is the first of what we hope will be 30 initiatives to celebrate the 30th anniversaries of both UN Habitat and Habitat for International, coming up next year.

Many of you may be aware of the activities that were taking place last week in Rockefeller Center, temporarily named Humanity Plaza, where Habitat for Humanity joined with NBC and Warner Music to respond to the needs of those who lost their homes from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Habitat for Humanity’s Operation Home Delivery is a three-part program to help Habitat affiliates restore some level of service following the disasters and serve as a catalyst with other organizations, governments, corporations, foundations, etc., to bring people together to ensure affordable housing and recovery on a scale Habitat alone is not unable to provide. With the support of volunteers across the United States and donors from around the world, Habitat’s Operation Home Delivery is also constructing house frames in communities throughout the country and shipping the components and other necessary construction materials to hurricane-affected areas in the Gulf region where families, volunteers and builders help rebuild the homes.

Habitat for Humanity is honored to be among the many organizations working to put these people back into homes and help them get on with their lives.

We are also working with families and volunteers to rebuild in tsunami-affected Indonesia, as well as Sri Lanka and India and Thailand, where thousands of homes were destroyed and lives were turned upside down by last year’s tsunami. Through our efforts and partnerships we will be assisting up to 35,000 tsunami-affected families over the next several years.

If any good can come out of such a tragedy, these disasters revealed for many Americans a harsh reality we don’t often see on our evening news: the heartache, frustration and difficulties of daily life when one doesn’t have a safe, decent place to call home.

But as we rebuild following these disasters, we must not forget the millions of families around the world – even here in the United States, indeed right here in New York City – who have never had a safe, decent home. These are the silent sufferers. Their daily struggles escape the gaze of the media spotlight. There are no celebrity telethons to support them.

Day after day, these families live in unsafe shelters -- without access to adequate sanitation, safe drinking water or proper security. The children have no safe space to play, no room or adequate lighting to do their homework – if they even go to school -- and little hope for a future any brighter than that of their parents or their parents’ parents.

The problem is most critical in the cities. The city is a place of promise – promising jobs, better health care, education and connections for those who are struggling in rural settings. Approximately 1 million people move into the world’s biggest cities every week in hopes of a better life, competing with others for jobs, public services, and housing. But it is a promise that is largely unfulfilled.

Most end up in worse conditions than those they left behind. By 2007 it is estimated that one in three urban dwellers will be living in poverty. Even today, 920 million people are living in urban slums.

How do we respond to these statistics? Sometimes, people hear such terrible things or see them on television and say, “someone ought to do something about that,” and then they change the channel and watch a movie. That’s discontent. But I think we need “Holy Discontent.” That is when you see the same thing and say, “I can’t stand that and I’m going to do something about it.” And then you get off the couch and act.

My holy discontent moment came three and a half years ago on a mission trip to work with people from the dalit, or “untouchable” caste in rural India. Half of these children die by the age of 13, and during my work with them God let me know that I needed to respond.

We should not stand for the current state of poverty housing.

Today, on World Habitat Day, Habitat for Humanity is proud to join UN-Habitat, the Earth Institute at Colombia University, and the Rockefeller Foundation in acknowledging this growing global problem and committing – with all of you here today – to work together to address it.

“Cities without Slums” -- Goal 7, Target 11 of the Millennium Development Goals -- is the beginning of this effort. Together, we can improve the lives of 100 million slum dwellers. And we must, and can, reach even more.

I have heard it said that Target 11 – the only MDG addressing shelter -- is just one part of the larger development framework. I submit to you that safe, decent, affordable shelter is the foundation of long-term, sustainable development.

I have heard from others in the development community that housing is low on the priority list; that we should focus on health and water and food and jobs. But proper housing improves health, education, and livelihoods. A recent study by Emory University found that improved housing significantly reduced the burden of disease among children under five years of age in Malawi. The scenario is repeated around the world. But only when housing is improved.

To work toward the end of poverty housing is to work toward the end of poverty as a whole.

The Cities without Slums declaration cites some key obstacles to achieving its goal:

• poor policies

• the failure to address people’s needs

• inequities in access to services

• insecurity of tenure, and

• inequalities between men and women

The way forward will not be easy. But these are obstacles we can overcome by mobilizing people around the world. We must begin by raising awareness of the immense problem of slum dwellings and other poverty housing conditions and working with governments and concerned citizens to address them.

Habitat for Humanity is blessed with a global base of volunteers, supporters and sponsors. With their help, this year we reached an important milestone by building our 200,000th house worldwide.

It took 25 years to build the first 100,000 Habitat houses. Through the good will of our committed faith-based, corporate and individual supporters, the next 100,000 were built in just five years. Every 24 minutes, someone in the world is walking through the doorway of their new Habitat home.

We do this by working in respectful partnership with homeowner families, providing a hand up and not a hand out. And by working through and with local organizations, we offer sustainable, pragmatic, and culturally appropriate solutions to poverty housing.

Some of you saw that in action this morning as we met the Wise family, who have partnered with Habitat to build their new home in Harlem.

We have much to celebrate. But there is more to build. Habitat for Humanity alone cannot house the 1 billion people in the world in need of decent shelter. Recently Habitat for Humanity joined the ONE Campaign -- a diverse coalition of faith-based and development organizations to fight global AIDS and poverty. We believe it is our responsibility, indeed our mission, to join with others to find practical, sustainable solutions.

In this same vein, Habitat for Humanity commits to working with all of you -- with UN-Habitat, the Earth Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, other non-governmental organizations, and with the countries represented in this room today and all the UN missions -- to end poverty housing worldwide.

We have the opportunity to put the urgency of ending poverty on the hearts and minds of people everywhere and to spread the message worldwide that the Millennium Development Goals are essential to creating a safe home for people everywhere – from New Orleans, to New York, to New Delhi.

I look forward to joining you on World Habitat in 2006 to see how far we’ve come. Together, we can achieve a world where everyone has a safe, decent place to live.