Charity group looking for land to build homes for the poor
By M. KRISHNAMOORTHY
KUALA LUMPUR: Habitat for Humanity (HH), an international charitable organisation which builds houses for the poor, is looking for land in Malaysia for its projects.
Through its newly-established office here, it is looking for land in urban and rural areas to build low-cost terrace houses for those who cannot afford a decent home.
HH’s Asia-Pacific programme adviser Dr Nestor Pestelos said the houses would be sold at cost and no interest would be charged for the loans.
“The buildings will be financed by a revolving Fund for Humanity. The fund’s money comes from the new homeowners’ house payments, donations and no-interest loans provided by supporters and money earned through fund-raising activities.
“The excess money in the Fund for Humanity will be used to build more houses,” Pestelos said.
HH was popularised by former American President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter who took the first HH work trip to New York City, building and renovating homes for the poor in poverty-stricken areas.
Pestelos added that he welcomed volunteers from all fields to help in building homes for the poverty-stricken.
HH’s board of trustee member Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said:
“We want your ideas, commitment and sponsorships to build houses for those who cannot afford a roof over their heads.
“Volunteers can join us in developing communities with people in need by building and renovating houses so that there are decent houses in decent communities.”
Today, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 220,000 houses, sheltering more than one million people in thousands of communities in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Pestelos said that through the work of HH , thousands of low-income families had found new hope in the form of affordable housing.
Another board of trustee member Datuk Phang Kon Hee said:
“What the poor need is not charity, but capital, not case workers but co-workers.
“And what the rich need is a wise, honourable and just way of divesting themselves of their overabundance.”
For those who wish to volunteer their services and for more information, call Pestelos (016-9581924) or Samuel Phang (019-2533241).
Originally published in TheStar Online, 4 May 2008