According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, shelter is one of our fundamental needs — home is where the heart is, after all. It’s hard to imagine a life without a roof over your head, and if you’re reading this, that concern has probably never crossed your mind. Yet, it’s estimated that roughly 150 million people around the world have no place to call home, and beyond that another 1.6 billion people live with inadequate shelter. To put that into perspective, roughly 1 out of every 5 people go through life without the certainty of shelter. These people are often those who do not have the means to afford comfortable and secure housing, and it can be difficult for them to go about earning enough when they constantly have to worry about where their next shelter will be.

 

That’s where Habitat for Humanity comes in. Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-governmental, and nonprofit organisation that’s all about building and improving homes for people — with the goal of building ‘strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter’ by pulling on the strength of the organisation’s many  volunteers.

 

This idea of "partnership housing" — where beneficiaries work alongside volunteers to build their homes — was first pioneered in 1976 in an American community farm by Millard and Linda Fuller, the founders of Habitat for Humanity. Fast-forward to today, Habitat has grown into an international endeavour and worked in at least 3,000 communities all over the globe.

 

As an affiliate serving the Asia-Pacific region, Habitat for Humanity Singapore has taken a focus on alleviating poverty through providing safe and decent housing. Building strength, stability and self-reliance - the key aspects of every project - has allowed beneficiaries the opportunity to break out of the poverty cycle and allow younger generations to live more fruitful lives. Consisting of over 30,000 volunteers, Habitat Singapore has also built over 1,400 homes across the Asia-Pacific region since it's inception in 2004. Volunteers often travel to nearby countries like Thailand (Sawadee Build) and Indonesia (Batam Build) with Global Village to help low-income communities build better safer homes. This process also includes cultural and geographical considerations to be made in order to fit the needs of the beneficiaries better. All in all, Habitat volunteers - whether they work with local or overseas communities - seek fulfilment in what they do by helping to provide decent and affordable housing.

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Here’s an account from one of the organisation’s volunteers!

 

ASHOK MENGHANI is an Indian expatriate who has made Singapore his home in the last few years. Though he initially joined Habitat through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities, he eventually became a long-term volunteer. Today, he is part of the HopeBuilders, a team that contributes both physically and financially to the organisation.

 

“No one compelled me or asked me to do anything. When I was a young boy living in India, I was used to community living. Later on, everyone shifted to apartments; but, I still maintained that compound living mentality where everyone helps each other out. There is really nothing special about what I do.”