INDIA (November 2024) — Through collaboration with Habitat for Humanity India, thousands of women who took part in a multi-year initiative are making headway in the male-dominated construction sector.

Project Nirmanshree — a combination of Hindi and Sanskrit words that means “building women” — was funded by the European Union and implemented by Habitat India. By the project’s completion in December 2023, a total of 2,710 women across four districts in India’s Odisha and Maharashtra states have improved their livelihoods and employment opportunities in housing-related trades. The initiative empowers marginalized women through construction and entrepreneurship development training, creating greater access to government services related to housing and advocacy work.

Amrapali
She was among the first women to join Project Nirmanshree in Dharashiv (formerly known as Osmanabad) district, Maharashtra state. She had started working as an unskilled laborer on construction sites, earning 200 Indian rupees (about US$2.40) a day, to supplement her family’s income. As her husband did not always have work as an agricultural laborer, her earnings helped to pay for the education of her daughter Anuja, 16, and son Saurabh, 12.

With the support of Habitat India and its partners, Amrapali gained certifications in entrepreneurship and related skills through government schemes. She also formed a self-help group with 11 other women who each contributes 100 Indian rupees monthly into an account with a local bank.

Amrapali used the seed money from the savings group to set up a small enterprise. Named after her son, Saurabh Construction Services provides centering plates that are used to support concrete slabs and beams during the construction process. The business also employs other women from Amrapali’s village. By 2023, sales revenue reached 80,000 Indian rupees with orders coming in from across the community.

“Without taking a firm decision to leave the house and start working, your family will not progress. Today, I am able to interact with bank officials and others without fear,” said Amrapali.

Anuradha
In Maharashtra’s Beed district, former construction worker Anuradha gained the confidence and skills to be an entrepreneur after receiving training through Project Nirmanshree. She took part in Recognition of Prior Learning, which is a component of the Government of India’s Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana Scheme. RPL enables individuals with prior learning experience or skills to be assessed and certified.

She was also trained in entrepreneurship and enterprise skills development. She drew up a business plan and registered her centering plate rental business named Daksha Construction. Through Project Nirmanshree, she was able to access a state government program providing credit-linked subsidies for setting up micro and small enterprises. “By marketing it well, I will try to increase the business of this enterprise,” she said.

Having started her entrepreneurship journey, the next step was to build a home of her own. Working with the Project Nirmanshree team, Anuradha designed and built a house with a toilet and bathroom on a small plot of land that she owns, close to the highway. “Our home is ready,” she said. “We now have plans to build a shop along the highway in the future.”

Project Nirmanshree began in early January 2020 and was completed in end-December 2023. Having overcome challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the outcomes included:

• Policy briefs that addressed barriers to housing were developed and distributed to 74 government officials and other key stakeholders in Maharashtra and in New Delhi. Policy briefs were also provided to over 100 government officials in Odisha.
• Almost 212,800 families were able to gain knowledge about improving their homes over the course of the multi-year project.
• A dozen events were organized in Odisha and Maharashtra states to promote the products and services of select women-led enterprises under Project Nirmanshree.

Anand Kumar Bolimera, Habitat for Humanity India’s national director, said, “It is our privilege to have partnered with extraordinary women who are actively contributing to their family’s livelihood and their children’s future. This is the tangible impact of Project Nirmanshree. May the communities continue to drive lasting improvements.”

Since 1983, Habitat for Humanity India has worked with more than 38 million people to build or improve a place they can call home, improve access to safe sanitation and help affected families rebuild homes and lives after disasters hit.

With six years to go, the world needs to accelerate its progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Currently, only 17% of these goals are likely to be achieved by 2030, according to a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. To help us get back on track, a recent blog post in the World Economic Forum called for both the public and private sectors to participate.

Such multi-stakeholder participation is characteristic of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia’s Village Improvement Program in Mauk subdistrict, about 50 kilometers west of the capital city Jakarta. The partners include local communities, the provincial and village governments, donors, experts, consultants, and other civil society organizations. In over a decade, more than 25,000 individuals in six villages in Mauk have created better lives through housing.

Junaedi’s story
The year that Habitat began working in Mauk, or 2012, was significant for Junaedi and his wife Melianti. They became homeowners for the first time and welcomed their first child Ghina. They had put off having a child as they were living in overcrowded, unhealthy conditions. Currently, they live in a two-bedroom house in Mauk in Tangerang regency.

For three years, the couple had to share living quarters with seven people in a house belonging to Melianti’s parents. Unsealed and non-plastered, the concrete walls and the floor were susceptible to cracks. It was dusty indoors and abrasive to the touch. During the rainy season, dampness was a problem because of water seeping in through the cracks. They lacked a sanitary toilet without proper plumbing and access to clean, running water.

The opportunity to build their own home came when Junaedi learned about a Habitat for Humanity project from village leaders. After his application to become a future homeowner was accepted, he worked alongside student volunteers from Singapore. He contributed his own labor by assisting the skilled workers and volunteers to build the floor, walls and roof. He also lent a hand in painting and installing siding.

Upon stepping into their newly completed home, Junaedi said, “It felt like a gift from God.” His wife Melianti, who was holding their newborn child, described it as a beautiful start for their family.

Junaedi also received training in basic house maintenance that was conducted by Habitat Indonesia. In 2013, he answered a job ad and joined Habitat Indonesia as a construction assistant, a role that he has held for over a decade.

Contributing to community
“This home is our sanctuary. Without it, I’d still be struggling to save for a better life. Now, I can focus on my family and contribute to the community that helped us,” Junaedi said. He offers guidance to local community members on construction techniques and encourages them to save money and manage their finances for building or improving their own homes.

With a safe, stable home, Junaedi and Melianti could make plans to expand their family. Their second child Jian was born in 2017. Besides saving money for their children’s education, they intend to extend the kitchen and make the living and dining areas more spacious.

“I hope Habitat keeps helping families achieve their dreams of a safe haven and I encourage everyone to support this mission,” Junaedi said.

Besides building better homes, Habitat families in Mauk also increased their access to clean water and proper latrines; constructed community facilities and started home-based micro-enterprises. Local communities have improved their capacity through training in basic construction skills and house maintenance; and enhanced their health and well-being through good hygiene and waste management practices. In addition, Habitat Indonesia raises awareness of the housing need in Indonesia and advocates for policies that increase access to affordable housing. To date, Habitat has worked with more than 200,000 families across Indonesia to build or improve the place they call home.

Young people were the focus of a campaign across Asia and the Pacific that began in 2012. Twelve years later, they are still the driving force of the Habitat for Humanity Young Leaders Build. The youth speak up, volunteer and raise funds to support Habitat’s mission.

They serve in different ways but their motivation remains the same — connect families and communities with the life-changing impact of decent, affordable shelter. Let’s hear from these talented, committed youth supporters.

Building homes and lives
In early 2024, Sushmita’s family home in eastern Nepal had to make way for a road-widening project. They worked with the local government to find a solution with the support of Habitat for Humanity Nepal and partner organization Mahuli Community Development Center. While her father was working in India, Sushmita learned construction skills and helped build a new home, together with her mother. It took them four months to complete constructing their home on a plot of land provided by the government.

Together with 53 other young leaders, Sushmita built and painted a fence around her home. They were among a total of 5,212 supporters who took part in the 2024 Habitat Young Leaders Build campaign that spanned eight Asia-Pacific countries. Their support ensured more 1,720 families were able to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

Fundraising
Collective fundraising efforts took centerstage elsewhere. In South Korea, more than 100 university students staffed booths at a fundraising festival in the capital city Seoul. Held at Wangsimni Square, which was close to a subway station, visitors including children could try their hand at making keyrings, dolls, pottery and more. Younkyoung Choi is president of the Habitat for Humanity club based in Chung-Ang University. She said, “Opportunities for universities to come together for fundraising activities are rare. The DIY Festival, where everyone worked towards a common goal, felt especially meaningful. Thanks to the children proudly showcasing the keyrings they made and adults asking if they could open booths again, we gained strength to continue our activities.”

Over in India, more than two dozen runners raised funds for Habitat for Humanity India through the Tata Marathon in January 2024.

A total of more than US$93,000 was raised by young people that supported Habitat’s work in house construction, disaster response and advocacy for safe, decent housing across the region.

Other youth volunteers lent a hand to various projects such as house-painting, decluttering homes and community clean-up to help families improve the place they call home. Many young people also used their voices to draw attention to housing issues over the multi-month campaign. In Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, international volunteers learned about the respective countries’ housing needs and innovative housing solutions from their local counterparts. Other activities included:

• Cambodia: supporters of Habitat Young Leaders Build joined a roadshow to four schools and related their experiences to inspire others.
• India: volunteers from C. P. Goenka International School and Oakridge International School hosted workshops on sustainable practices, community service projects and initiatives to address local housing challenges.
• South Korea: young people as well as vulnerable groups attended an urban innovation school that provided training on urban regeneration and ways to revitalize cities.
• Myanmar: after attending an awareness-raising session, Esther said, “The presentation was about Habitat’s work in the housing sector in our country and globally. I am so surprised that people, including me, are not aware of housing needs and its related issues. Now, I understand better the importance of youth in society and how we can be an enabling factor to improve housing needs in the region.”
• Nepal: young leaders welcomed representatives from the local government, officers from the Australian embassy in Kathmandu and leaders from Habitat Australia and Habitat Nepal to their communities. They also worked with future homeowners to build homes.
• Singapore: students from Tampines Secondary School joined an assembly to learn about Habitat Singapore’s work while their counterparts from Catholic Junior College hosted an advocacy booth.
• Vietnam: volunteers helped spread the word about health hazards due to the use of asbestos in house construction. They also advocated for changing some of the practices among the Muong ethnic group in Tan Lac district. Parts of the Muong people’s houses may be used to hold buffalo, thus increasing the risks of environmental pollution and disease transmission.

No matter their role, the youth supporters aim to bring tangible, long-term benefits to their community. In the words of Sushmita, “As much as I want to inspire others to volunteer in home construction work, I also emphasize the importance of approaching such projects with care and a commitment to sustainability.”

Nearly 1.1 billion people worldwide are live in informal settlements, such as slums, riverbanks, railway tracks, and illegally on government or corporate land. Their situation is exacerbated by a lack of access to basic rights such as clean water, adequate sanitation, and secure land tenure, making them vulnerable to climate change.

“These individuals are often ignored, looked down upon, and deprioritized. They are frequently blamed and judged without understanding their background. Their difficult lives are worsened by the lack of access to basic rights such as clean water and adequate sanitation, legitimate land rights, and they are also vulnerable to climate change,” said Susanto, national director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia.

According to him, a key element of the right to adequate housing is land tenure security, which guarantees legal protection against forced evictions, harassment, and other threats. The lack of land tenure security prevents families from accessing financing to improve their homes. This occurs because they lack collateral, formal employment, and have minimal income.

“Currently, both government and nongovernmental organizations have numerous housing programs, but these mostly target low-income individuals who meet the criteria for land ownership. These programs have yet to reach those living in informal settlements with extreme poverty, who cannot meet the requirements of financial institutions or banks.” said Susanto.

On this basis, Habitat for Humanity is committed to improving access to adequate housing through the ‘Home Equals’ campaign, which aims to amplify the voices of informal settlers and advocate for fairer policies.

To achieve this, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia collaborates with the Tangerang Regency Government to build adequate homes for those in need. This effort involves all community elements, especially village, sub-district, and regency governments, to provide and build adequate housing for those in need.

This program is located in Kampung Tanjung Kait, Desa Tanjung Anom, Kecamatan Mauk, Tangerang regency. The residents of Kampung Tanjung Kait live on land owned by the Tjo Soe Kong Temple Foundation, with inadequate housing conditions, limited access to basic services, and threats of disasters and climate change.

The Tanjung Kait area improvement program begins with increased participation through the Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness, or PASSA. This approach results in community agreements in area planning area improvements, financing, and land legality. The program is fully supported by the Mauk sub-district and regency government for the processes of land legality, permitting, and funding.

In addition to organizing the Tanjung Kait area, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia is collaborating with the Rujak Center for Urban Studies and the Tangerang regency government to develop recommendations for land, funding, and financing for the poor in informal settlements in Tangerang regency. This initiative aims to identify problems and formulate comprehensive recommendations to address them.
The study results provide several recommendations:

• Respect the right to adequate housing by promoting principles of collaboration and mutual cooperation, integrated solutions, diversity of solutions, and progressive realization;
• Establish land, funding, and financing policy prerequisites with an open and transparent database, structured institutions, and multi-stakeholder forums;
• Integrate agrarian reform as a land solution for the poor in informal settlements through steps such as recognizing rights, legalization, cooperation in use and utilization, redistribution, grants, state takeover, purchase and selling, and court decisions;
• Provide funding and financing solutions for housing and settlements by utilizing state budgets such as the national budget, regional budget, and village budget, national programs, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and affordable financing institutions; and
• Develop an institutional roadmap with priority steps such as a regent’s decree on the formation of an agrarian reform task force, a regent’s regulation on housing quality improvement, and determining locations and action plans for housing quality improvement.

Slum areas
In a new brief titled “Slum Blind: The overlooked links between climate migration and informal settlements,” Habitat for Humanity reveals a blind spot in the discourse around climate-induced migration and adaptation efforts. Habitat highlights that most forcibly displaced people do not cross international borders, and most climate migrants are moving from rural to urban areas within their own countries, often residing in slums and other informal settlements.

Countries with large populations in urban informal settlements and expected to face the largest surge in internal climate migrants by 2050 include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Implementing a climate migration perspective in policies to improve informal settlements is crucial in all countries, especially in these regions.

“Habitat wants to call attention to the opportunity to promote climate adaptation in places that need it most, specifically informal settlements, which host most climate-induced migrants within developing countries,” said Susanto.

Despite the challenges, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia is not only builds adequate housing but also empowers families to create better lives. Through the Home Equals initiative, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia is committed to advocating for basic rights such as access to adequate housing, land tenure security, climate resilience, and the availability of basic services for residents in informal settlements.

Susanto explained that the Home Equals campaign in Indonesia aims to improve the quality of life by 4%, the quality of national education by 28%, and national economic growth by 10.5%. He believes that everyone deserves a safe, healthy, and dignified life.

“We hope that with the support of all parties, significant changes will occur to improve the quality of life and create a better future for all. Let’s realize this vision together, where every home is a safe and comfortable place for all residents.”

This campaign is a concrete step in building a more prosperous and sustainable society by providing fair and adequate access to housing. Habitat for Humanity Indonesia is committed to continuing to collaborate with all parties to create broader and more sustainable positive change.

This article is translated from an article written in the Indonesian language that was published in Bisnis Indonesia newspaper on July 21, 2024.

MANILA (Feb. 5, 2024) — “I want to take meaningful action in helping build and strengthen the community, leaving behind a positive impact on those who are less privileged,” said Jerhuy Shen-Puoy, a volunteer student from the International School of Phnom Penh. He was among more than 13,000 people in eight countries who supported Habitat for Humanity’s largest youth movement in the Asia-Pacific region in 2023. About 470 families were served through the construction of 95 new homes and the repair of three community facilities. Supporters also raised a total of more than US$257,000. During the multi-month Habitat Young Leaders Build, Jerhuy helped Habitat for Humanity Cambodia in rallying other young volunteers in fundraising and constructing decent homes.

Helping neighbors
Local volunteering remains a strong component of the campaign that is currently in its 13^th year. Students and young professionals work alongside community members to construct new houses, declutter, deep clean or repair orphanages and homes of families in vulnerable conditions.

In India, Habitat’s youth ambassador and Miss India 2019 Muskan Lund led fellow youth in supporting the campaign. A volunteer with Habitat since 2015, she speaks up and raises funds for the cause of affordable housing in India.

Others showed support in different ways. The Canadian International School of Hong Kong donated HK$45,000 (more than US$5,700) and their students helped older people to improve their living conditions through Habitat for Humanity Hong Kong’s Project Homeworks.

International impact
The 2023 campaign also marked the return of international youth volunteering in select countries since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Habitat for Humanity Japan sent more than 270 youth volunteers to Cambodia and Vietnam through the Global Village program. Besides building homes alongside local families, the volunteers also learned of the country’s housing need and the impact of inadequate housing on a family’s safety, health and financial stability and children’s educational opportunities.

“I was shocked by the reality that some families cannot live together because they do not have a decent home. At the same time, I realized that even we, as students, could help so that the family could live under one roof,” said Juntoku Koda, a student at Hosei University who worked on homes in Cambodia. He quoted a future homeowner saying to the volunteers on the last day of their build, “Thank you for coming from Japan to build our home. Now we can live with our children. It’s like a dream come true.”

Ryusei Masuda, from another Japanese team, shared about his experience in Vietnam. “Building a house means building a future.”

2024 campaign

The latest campaign was launched on International Volunteer Day on December 5, 2023, with a social media activation. In February 2024, Habitat will turn the spotlight on the need for secure, affordable housing. The online event “Amplified,” an initiative of the 2024 Habitat Young Leaders Build campaign, will showcase the winning housing solutions of five young leaders and provide an opportunity for volunteers to virtually interact with other young leaders in the region. Please support the campaign by contacting the local Habitat office in your locality.

INDONESIA (June 2023) — In Indonesia, only one in five women in rural areas could claim to own their homes, as a 2023 report on housing finance in select countries showed. Nurhayati, who lives in West Java province, had to put on hold her dream of building a new home though she already bought a plot of land. Due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband’s weekly earnings dropped to one fifth of what he used to make. He had to take on construction jobs to make ends meet.

While Nurhayati stayed home to take care of their three children, she was determined to improve her family’s living condition. She took out loans totaling 20 million rupiah (about US$1,280) from Indonesian microfinance institution KOMIDA to build a two-bedroom house incrementally. Nurhayati succeeded despite the hurdles that Indonesian women faced in accessing housing finance. The challenges included lower participation in the workforce, greater likelihood of informal work, and lower incomes than men.

A report “Her Home II: Housing Finance for Women in Ghana, Senegal, and Indonesia” by the International Finance Corporation, launched in mid-2023, highlighted these challenges. Ghana and Senegal were the other countries featured. The report included data from research on Indonesia that were provided by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter. The Terwilliger Center has been working in Indonesia with microfinance institutions to develop and grow the scope of housing finance products targeted at female-led households.

The estimated housing finance market size for female-headed households in Indonesia totals US$51.88 billion. Of this figure, nearly 80% is for new housing demand while home renovations and extensions make up the rest of the housing finance loans.

Some of the key findings for Indonesia in the report are:

• A majority of women in Indonesia, both in rural and urban areas, do not have the title to their property. Formally, the percentage of female rural dwellers owning their home drops to less than 4%. This lack of assets (which could be used as collateral), limits women’s capacity to apply for loans on their own.
• Less than half of working-age women are employed. Based on the cultural norm, women are expected to manage the household and raise children. Lower participation in the workforce, greater likelihood of informal work and lower incomes than men hamper women’s to formal lending.
• A significantly higher proportion of women saved money compared with men in Indonesia. However, men were more likely to use banks, while women tended to save more outside of the financial system, which makes underwriting women’s savings much more difficult when they request loans.

Recommendations for Indonesia, which overlap with those for Ghana and Senegal, include the following:

• Provide new business models that rapidly and efficiently expand housing finance access for women who work in both informal and formal sectors.
• The use of gender disaggregated data can help financial institutions to develop customized solutions for women.
• Gender-based targets can help ensure equitable distribution of government funding in the housing sector.
• Develop incentives for land tenure and property registration in women’s names so women can pledge property title as a collateral for housing loans.
• Increase access to housing finance for women. Not only does this grow the economy but it also improves women’s financial resilience. Housing finance is also a largely untapped market for financial institutions in developing countries.

This story is part of a series marking Habitat for Humanity’s 40 years of building homes and building solutions in Asia and the Pacific.

BATTAMBANG, Cambodia (October 2023) — After a decade of fighting for secure tenure for his community, Sreang is satisfied with the outcome. “My big achievement is the success of getting the land certificate, I own the land. I am happy to get the land and build a house,” said Sreang, 74, a community leader who lives in Battambang, one of Cambodia’s most populous provinces. According to an ESCAP report, rapid migration and urbanization has resulted in the formation of more than 60 informal settlements in Battambang city. Like Sreang, many informal settlement residents live along roads, or riverbanks, railway tracks and private land.

Since 1985, Sreang’s family and more than 60 other families have been living on a public road in Battambang city in northwest Cambodia. These families are under constant threat of forced eviction and often live in precarious conditions. Their lack of land titles deters the government from authorizing any upgrades to the informal settlements such as access to water, drainage, road, waste management and other housing conditions.

Led by Sreang as head of the residents’ committee, the Ponler Prek Preah Sdach informal settlement community took 10 years to reach an agreement with the local government to be allocated land. It involved long hours of numerous meetings and discussions between the residents’ committee and community members, and the committee with government representatives.

Unanimously, 55 of the families agreed to move to one side of the road. In return, each family received a 32-square-meter plot of land from the Battambang provincial government in 2015. Some families were living on more land before the allotment, others on less land. Those with more land were willing to share their land to receive their land certificates that provided security of tenure and protection against forced eviction. The project requires Sreang and other community residents to live 10 years on the allocated plots of land before the Battambang provincial government will grant land titles to the families.

With his land certificate as a proof of secure tenure, Sreang was able to get a loan of up to US$10,000 from Habitat’s microfinance institution partner, KREDIT and CBIRD. The money was used to buy a small truck which Sreang’s son-in-law refurbished to become a mobile ice cream store.

The following year in 2017, the families partnered with Habitat for Humanity Cambodia to construct their homes together with more than 250 volunteers in a weeklong build. “I remember the volunteers who came to help me build, I still have a photo of them in front of my new house,” Sreang shared. His eyes welled up when he described the dilapidated condition of his old house. In the rainy season, it would be flooded due to the lack of a proper drainage system. Sometime dangerous insects and venomous snakes would come into the house.

Habitat also supported Sreang and other community members to get access to basic services such as water and electricity. Community Empowerment and Development, a local nongovernmental organization that partnered with Habitat Cambodia, trained the community to build proper drainage systems.

Without having to relocate, the residents could build adequate housing on land that will belong to them. Residents in the community could continue working close to the city as cooks, barbers, drivers, welders and carpenters. Their children go to a school nearby. The families can buy fresh food from a local market and go to a local hospital for medical services.

Currently, Sreang lives with his family of 12 in Battambang city. He and his wife Vanna, 71, are taking care of their grandchildren whose parents have gone to Thailand for work. The COVID-19 pandemic had taken a toll with some of his children losing their jobs. His sons who are working abroad send him money for living expenses.

This community is one of four existing communities of Sangkat Prek Preah Sdach, where Habitat works to build awareness on land rights; provide land tenure security; strengthen partnership in social land concession; and provide housing solutions and support services.

Sreang continues to be active as the community leader. “My committee worked closely together, cooperating, not finding fault of putting blame on others when things go wrong, we find ways to bring people together.” He helps to maintain unity in the community by mediating between neighbors who may have conflicts over division of land, sharing of resources, relationships and financial matters.

In 2025, Sreang and his neighbors will finally receive land titles that give them and the future generations secure tenure. “My neighbors are grateful to me, I’m very grateful to them, we supported each other to get the land,” he said. Sreang shared that he has asked his children not to sell the house and land after his passing.