“Ready for Excellence” build in Romania
Bucharest (August 2016) – A group of 24 employees of the Wienerberger Group from 13 countries are coming to volunteer their time and professional skills on a Habitat’s construction project in Cumpana, Romania on August 31 and September 1, 2016.
Habitat for Humanity Romania is building in Cumpana 12 housing units, three quadruples, for families on low incomes. The housing need in the area is great as there are more than 300 names on the city hall waiting list. In Romania, affordable housing programs have to be supported by the government. However, due to the budget constraints, social housing construction in the country has been declining and underfunded over the past decade.
The work on a construction site in Cumpana coincides with Wienerberger’s international training program “Ready4Excellence”, which seeks to develop future talent within the group designed to train international experience and professional skills of the employees. Wienerberger employees will work on the site together with eight low-income families to build safe and decent homes. A similar event took place in Bulgaria in summer 2014.
“Our cooperation with Habitat passed on a higher level. Over the past two years we could talk only about donations of building materials, today we are happy to contribute also with our expertise, knowledge and workforce”, says Mr. Gerhard Koch, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Wienerberger AG.
“The results and enthusiasm, as well as the commitment of all the involved parties show that this partnership is mutually beneficial for both sides. In the hard economic times, this work has great potential to contribute significantly to reducing poverty housing among the world’s poor. And we cannot do it alone, we need partners like Wienerberger,” says Greg Foster, area vice president for Habitat for Humanity in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Habitat for Humanity and the Wienerberger Group signed the first partnership for housing projects in Romania and Bulgaria in 2012. The group provided financial support, bricks, roof tiles and technical expertise. Almost 130 families received a new home or had their house renovated. The company also built with Habitat a new hospice and a school in Romania helping more than 1,360 people. In 2015, the Wienerberger Group extended its support for Habitat’s housing projects, offering staff volunteer time and support for advocacy work to influence housing policies in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and United States.
Wienerberger
Wienerberger is the world’s largest producer of bricks (Porotherm, Terca) as well as number one on the clay roof tile market (Koramic, Tondach) in Europe and on the concrete paver market (Semmelrock) in Central-East Europe. In pipe systems (Steinzeug-Keramo ceramic pipes and Pipelife plastic pipes), the company is one of the market leaders in Europe. Further information about Wienerberger can be found at www.wienerberger.com.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Since 1976, Habitat has helped more than 6.8 million people gain strength, stability and independence through housing, including home construction, rehabilitation and repairs and by increasing access to improved shelter through products and programs. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and offers a variety of housing support services that enable families with limited means to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit habitat.org/emea.