Habitat for Humanity accelerates indiaBUILDS campaign

Habitat for Humanity has announced that the international annual Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) will be held in India in October this year as the first signature event for Habitat for Humanity India's indiaBUILDS campaign.

The week–long event involving the building of 100 homes in a village at Lonavala, Maharashtra, will be a key event in the wider five–year indiaBUILDS campaign to highlight the dire need for affordable housing in this country of 1.1 billion people, nearly a quarter of whom live on less than $ 1 a day.

The former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will be among thousands of Indian and international volunteers building homes alongside local families in need who will live in the homes.

"Rosalynn and I have enjoyed working with Habitat for Humanity for more than two decades," said President Carter on the closing ceremony of last year's JCWP in Benton Harbor, USA. "We look forward to going to India to build houses with families in need."

The event, like the entire indiaBUILDS campaign, will highlight the status of poverty housing in India and around the world and will serve as an example of what can be accomplished when families, communities and nations come together to build a future where every man, woman and child has a decent place to live.

Mr. Sanjay Nayar, Citigroup Country Officer for India and Area Head of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, is co–chair of the 2006 indiaBUILDS advisory committee. "Issues related to housing are central to our nation's (India's) progress and addressing them cannot be done by any one individual or organization. It must be a collective effort," he said. "Homeownership, we believe, raises the standard of living for individuals and we are happy to be part of Habitat for Humanity's five–year indiaBUILDS Campaign, which will offer this opportunity to many underprivileged families. It is also a wonderful opportunity for our employees in India and across the world to help strengthen our commitment to help make communities better as they get involved as volunteers to build not just homes, but a future for these families."

The committee co–chair, Mrs. Rajashree Birla of the Aditya Birla Group, one of India's largest multinational business groups, added, "We feel it is imperative to give back to the community and make a difference to the lives of people. The Citigroup Foundation and the Aditya Birla Centre for Community Initiatives are closely working with Habitat for Humanity in this major initiative that would impact the lives of several underprivileged families."

"We would like to invite everyone to join us and Habitat in this ambitious endeavour," she said.

The Aditya Birla Group has already built 100 houses along with Habitat for Humanity in Renukoot in Uttar Pradesh, another 119 houses in Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu, and is committed to another 300 houses in the foreseeable future.

The importance of holding this year's JCWP in India was explained by Indu Kohli, a trustee for Habitat for Humanity India Trust. "It will be thrilling to see thousands of volunteers from nations around the world, from within India and from Asia joining partner families in their efforts to build a stronger future for their families and communities and to show the world how lives can improve when people come together with a common goal," she said. "The volunteers and families will be diverse in their backgrounds, but united in their goal to end poverty housing—in India and around the world."