500,000 people mobilized for Habitat for Humanity Youth BUILD 2015
San José, Costa Rica, (March 27, 2015) – Thousands of people in Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean joined their voices in the global housing campaign Youth BUILD 2015.
This three-month Habitat for Humanity awareness campaign will have helped a record 10,000 low-income families secure decent homes with the mobilization of 500,000 volunteers, including a unprecedented build in Nepal where about 150,000 volunteers built decent homes in more than 100 locations on March 21st.
This year, Habitat for Humanity Latin America and the Caribbean joined this global initiative that heightens awareness of the poverty housing situation and inspires youth to take action to tackle this growing problem.
“Worldwide, there are more than 1.8 billion youth, who are also disproportionately affected by poverty, unemployment and lack of access to education and housing. Nonetheless, young people continue to use their voices and volunteer work to create a better world”, said Torre Nelson, Habitat for Humanity vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The participant countries hosted several activities from December 5th, 2014 up until this week, including:
- Costa Rica: Organized the Habitat and Youth Encounter in the country’s main private university, where young people shared their experiences related to housing.
- El Salvador: 1.000 volunteers built decent houses for low-income families.
- Guyana: Through an ongoing study, “Voices of the Slums”, Habitat volunteers seek to discover and share the voices of destitute families.
- Dominican Republic: Youth from the Lux Mundi educational community and St.Edwards University helped to improve and build decent homes in San Juan de la Maguana.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that safe and affordable housing provides a path out of poverty, since 1976 Habitat has helped more than 5 million people through home construction, rehabilitation and repairs and by increasing access to improved shelter through products and services. 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 Christian 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 habitatlatino.org