Habitat for Humanity International’s 26th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project goes to Southeast Asia’s Mekong River region in November 2009.
The Mekong region — defined to include Vietnam, southwestern China, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia — has seen significant economic growth in the past 20 years. Yet it is still home to some of the poorest families in Asia. Nearly one-third of the population (80 million out of 250 million) lives in poverty, many living on less than a dollar per day.
The weeklong building project will secure homes in partnership with an estimated 250 families. Plans for the event include builds in northern Thailand, where Habitat for Humanity Thailand runs a successful program working with tribal families; in rural communities in southwestern China; in southern Laos; in slum areas of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh; and in communities along the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam.
The annual event also will serve as the starting point for a five-year Habitat for Humanity initiative to assist 50,000 families across the five countries by engaging corporations, individuals and partner organizations in the fight to end poverty housing.
For more information on the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2009, visit www.habitat.org.
