300,000 people participating in Habitat for Humanity’s largest youth movement

Annual Habitat Young Leaders Build takes place in 16 Asia-Pacific countries to build homes, clean schools and speak out on poverty housing issues

Manila (1 April 2016) – At the peak of Habitat for Humanity’s Young Leaders Build tomorrow, more than 300,000 people across the Asia-Pacific region will have come together to volunteer, fundraise and speak out for the need for decent homes as a way out of poverty and towards self-reliance. Taking place in 16 countries, this multi-month youth-driven campaign focuses on tackling the challenges of poverty housing through construction and advocacy activities, inspiring people to take action to tackle the growing problem.

“We see the energy of youth as an immense force for positive change, and they are volunteering, raising awareness and building in their own communities,” said Rick Hathaway, Asia-Pacific vice president, Habitat for Humanity International. “Young people play a big part in building a better future, and by joining together for Habitat’s Young Leaders Build campaign they are helping families to gain strength, stability and independence through shelter.”

This year the scouting movement in the region has increased their support to build more houses. Over 500 scouts and adult leaders from the World Organization of the Scout Movement and Boy Scouts of America are expected to volunteer for ‘Scout Build 2016’ as part of Habitat Young Leaders Build. A week-long Scout Build culminating on 2 April kicks it off. Some 83 Scouts from the U.S., Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as the Philippines are building homes this week in Bantayan in the Philippines, an area that was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.

Celebrities in several countries across Asia are also taking part in campaign events. In India, Bollywood Actress Jacqueline Fernandez is leading #JacquelineBuilds on 9 April in Chennai, to help families rebuild homes that were destroyed by massive floods last year. Actor-singer Wilfred Lau from Hong Kong joined 150 volunteers to build houses in Guangdong, China last weekend. Jacqueline and Wilfred are appearing with seven other Asian celebrities in a new video encouraging youth to join the Young Leaders Build campaign.

Habitat Young Leaders Build campaign, which is in its fifth year, spans 16 countries and one Special Administrative Region, including Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. Events include hands-on participation in home construction, house and school cleaning, runs, road shows, workshops, fundraising activities, advocacy grant awards and social media activities such as an online flag design contest and a Twitter party.

There is an urgent need for shelter that is safe and affordable across the Asia-Pacific region. The United Nations estimates that more than 500 million people in the region live in slums, representing more than half of the world’s slum dwellers, and that globally 1.6 billion people live without adequate shelter. Habitat Young Leaders Build engages youth to show solidarity with Habitat’s cause - to draw attention to, and tackle, the issue of substandard housing.

For more information on Habitat Young Leaders Build, go online. Join the Habitat Young Leaders Build community on Facebook , Instagram and Twitter using Hashtag #HabitatYLB.