Bangkok--3 Oct--TQPR Former US President Jimmy Carter & First Lady Rosalynn to Lead Volunteers from Around the World in Week-long Build in 2009 To Demonstrate Importance of Safe, Secure, Affordable and Legal Homes Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn are to join thousands of volunteers from around the world one year from this coming Monday (6th October, which is the World Habitat Day) in building houses for families in northern Thailand who need a secure and legal place they can call home. The formal announcement coincides with UN’s World Habitat Day. The United Nations designates the first Monday of every year as a special day to draw global attention to the issues of inadequate housing. Habitat for Humanity International’s 26th annual “Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project will held in the Mekong River region in November 2009. It will be a catalyst to demonstrate that there are practical ways to alleviate the poverty that comes when men and women face the fear of eviction as they lack the right to call the place they live in their home. “Whether they rent or own, four out of five people in the world face losing their homes and property because they do not have legal documentation to their property rights,” said Dr. Chainarong Monthienvichienchai, a member of Habitat’s international board of directors and chairman of Habitat for Humanity Thailand. “Next year’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project will show how homes with legal security of tenure empowers individuals and families.” Dr. Chainarong, who is vice chancellor of St John’s University in Bangkok, listed some of the benefits that security of tenure provides. These include incentives for families to invest in shelter improvements, to develop businesses in their homes, to make investments using their land titles as collateral for loans. In addition, the authorities are more willing to provide basic services and infrastructure to areas with secure tenure. Impediments to secure tenure range from excessive bureaucracy and corruption to gender discrimination and lack of political will. “Poor men and women can find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain titles to their land in some countries,” said Dr. Chainarong. What it really means to no longer face eviction ? plus the benefits of a safe and affordable physical structure ? will be demonstrated at the 2009 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work. Habitat for Humanity currently envisages building for some 82 families in northern Thailand. Many of the houses will be completed in a single week under Habitat for Humanity’s “blitz build” approach involving volunteers and families working together. A further 80 families are expected to benefit during the week: 20 at a project in Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia; 20 at a project in the capital of Laos, Vientiane; 20 in a project outside Hanoi, Vietnam; and 20 in a community in Yunnan, southwestern China. Added Richard Hathaway, vice president for Habitat for Humanity International’s Asia-Pacific region: “Those 160 families will be the start of a three-year Habitat for Humanity initiative to assist to assist tens of thousands of other families to acquire safe, decent, affordable and legal homes across this part of Southeast Asia.” The Mekong region — defined to include Vietnam, Yunnan province in China, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia — has seen significant economic growth in the past 20 years. “Yet it is still home to some of the poorest families in Asia. Nearly one third of the population of an estimated 250 million lives in poverty, many living on less than the equivalent of one US dollar a day,” said Hathaway. About Habitat for Humanity International Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built and rehabilitated 300,000 homes worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than one and a half million people. Habitat began working in the Asia-Pacific region in 1983 with a pilot program in Khammam, India. Since then, Habitat has built and rehabilitated approximately 72,000 homes and served an estimated 360,000 people around the region (as of June 2008). Every year thousands of other families are helped with repairs, and financial and technical assistance. In addition, up to 25,000 families are expected to benefit from Habitat programs to help victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami. For more information, visit http://www.habitat.org/ap Every year since 1984, former US president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn have donated one week of their time — and their building skills — to Habitat. The 2009 Carter Work Project will mark the fourth time the Carters have built with Habitat for Humanity in Asia. Previous Carter Work Projects were held in India in 2006, in South Korea in 2001 and in The Philippines in 1999. This year, the event — the 25th — was held in the US Gulf Coast to help with the ongoing recovery efforts after 2005’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita. About UN World Habitat Day Since 1968, the United Nations has designated the first Monday in October each year as World Habitat Day in order to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. Today, 1.6 billion people live in inadequate shelter around the world — 1 billion of those live in slums — half of them in the Asia-Pacific region. By the year 2030 it is expected that 3 billion people will live in slum communities. Over 2.2 billion people live in rural areas: 1.6 billion lack access to proper sanitation; 750 million lack access to decent water. The world’s housing situation is a bad and in need of attention and action. Adequate housing is a human right. The UN Millennium Goals call for a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 (Goal 7 Target 11). Adequate housing leads to better health for families, stronger educations for children, and safer and more secure communities. Ensuring adequate housing is a key component in the fight to end global poverty. Habitat for Humanity International sees World Habitat Day as a key point to focus on the issue of inadequate housing. This year Habitat has chosen as its theme the importance of secure tenure, the ability to live in a place without fear of eviction. For further information for media, please contact: Maetavarin Maneekulpan Peter Witton TQPR Thailand Director Communications, Asia-Pacific +66-2260-5820 +66-86105-1767/+852-9097-2014 [email protected] pwitton@habitat.org