To serve, with love
We celebrate the power and potential of Habitat volunteers. Happy International Volunteer Day!
MANILA (Dec. 5, 2025) — At Habitat for Humanity, volunteers are at the heart of our mission. This year, we join the United Nations and organizations worldwide to mark the impact of our amazing volunteers. They help Habitat reach more people, build relationships and advocate for action in ways that transform communities.
In fiscal year 2025, over 19,000 volunteers built homes, advocated for action, and spread the word to help families in the Asia-Pacific region access safe, decent places to live. Whether they serve with their own communities or work abroad, volunteers play a vital role in realizing our vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.
Local volunteers
Above image: To preserve his own language and culture, Shibu edits articles in a Nepali-Santhali literary journal.
Main image: Shibu with his wife Saramuni who just celebrated her birthday when the photo was taken. Photos: Habitat for Humanity Nepal/Abisek Bista
Shibu, Nepal
A trained community facilitator, Shibu belongs to the Santhal ethnic group who mostly reside in Jhapa and Morang districts in eastern Nepal. He helps Habitat for Humanity Nepal and its partner organization Sahara to promote the financial literacy program.
“There are a lot of deprived and marginalized people in my community who are illiterate. I want my community to be aware of financial literacy.” He said, “The people in my community are mostly daily wage laborers. Whatever they earn, they would spend. If they don’t save the money they earn, they will remain poor and can’t build proper homes. With savings, they can invest in starting small businesses.”
According to Shibu, a family in his community can save about 200 Nepali rupees (US$1.40), about one third of their daily household income. Now each family has at least one account, mostly with microfinance institutions. “Women can save money because they are disciplined,” Shibu said.
His role extended beyond training. He helped to translate the financial literary booklet from Nepali into Santhali. Keen to preserve his own language and culture, he edits and contributes articles to a Nepali-Santhali journal.
He also teaches the Santhali language and writing to the children in his community. “The new generation has forgotten their own language. This is my effort to preserve our own culture,” he said.
While his dream is to have a full-time job in a financial institution, Shibu remains grounded. “I want to work in the community, for the community.”
Muskan’s initiative Chhat Shakti was one of the winners of the 2025 Habitat Youth Solutions grants.
Muskan Lund, India
“I have been associated with Habitat for Humanity since I was 13 years of age. It’s been 10 years now and it has been quite a journey. I feel when it comes to young people and the youth, they bring so much energy, they bring so much innovation, they bring a fresh mind into play.
We’re not always held back by this thought that this is how things work. We always want to strive for change, we always want to break barriers, we want to break cultural norms, we want inclusivity and I think there’s so much that the youth can bring. It is the perfect blend of the people who have come before us and who are going to come after us.
So, I feel we strive to balance that. We need training, we need mentorship, we need the funding, we need the guidance and we also need a seat at the table where decisions are being made.”
Alex Taladua’s initiative Re-Leaf the Heat was among the winners of the 2025 Habitat Youth Solutions grants.
Alex Taladua, Philippines
An active youth advocate, Alex is part of a Habitat for Humanity Green Chapter in De La Salle University in the Philippines. Over the past five years, her campus chapter has developed a close relationship with the Pasig 2 community comprising about 150 families who were resettled from living along the river banks.
Alex says, “We should be locally calling to action for the youth to be volunteering and to take part in climate-resilient infrastructure, to take a focus on how the climate can affect the living standards of these people.
Because, once again, a home is not just a place where you go to sleep or to eat, it’s something where you go to develop yourself even further. It’s the whole, it’s the foundation of life.”
Gregg (far right) with other volunteers at Habitat Hong Kong’s Project Home Works.
Gregg, Hong Kong
About 220,000 people live in subdivided flats in Hong Kong. These units include those in poor conditions such as what Gregg and other volunteers encountered. Over two days, amid sweltering heat, he helped declutter a family’s subdivided flat, clearing years of accumulated belongings, and transporting waste safely to nearby collection points.
After decluttering, there was space for storage at home and the children could study and rest more comfortably. “It was a very enriching experience for me — I felt I had a real impact helping someone,” Gregg shares. “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to give back to the community.”
Connie with the wall mural she and other volunteers painted during Habitat Hong Kong’s Project School Works.
Connie, Hong Kong
Through volunteering with Project School Works in Hong Kong, Connie has discovered new passions. She helps transform school walls into vibrant canvases. She recalls the moment students walked into their newly painted computer room, eyes widening and exclaiming, “Now we can find our classroom so easily!”
Along with painting walls — an activity that takes her back to her school days — she cherishes the teamwork and shared purpose among volunteers. “It’s fun, fresh, and you meet the most amazing people.”