Why We Exist

IMAGINE A WORLD in which everyone who needs shelter is safely and affordably housed. This need is very real in the Asia-Pacific region where some 580 million people live in slums, representing two-third of the world’s slum dwellers.

Rapid population growth and urbanization add to the urgency of the housing need. By 2030, cities and towns across Asia will be home to an estimated 2.6 billion people. Almost as many – 2.2 billion – will be seeking to build better lives in difficult rural areas. The majority will be poor. But each is an individual with potential, aspirations and dreams.

The ambitious United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the globally agreed drive to tackle poverty and deprivation in all its forms, include specific calls for “a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020”. Habitat for Humanity International puts such goals into reality by transforming lives through the provision of safe, decent and affordable homes.

A decent home opens the door to improved health, better performance in school, greater economic opportunities, and increased community cohesion. The challenges of combating poverty housing are complex. The Asia-Pacific region encompasses many unique and diverse societies. A housing solution that makes sense on an island in the western Pacific is very different to what works in a New Zealand suburb; or a fishing village in Orissa; or a slum in Metro Manila; or a mountain village in China.

Every day, across the Asia-Pacific region, Habitat for Humanity and family partners rise together to the challenges.