About us

Asia-Pacific

A world where everyone has a decent place to live

The need for adequate housing solutions in Asia-Pacific is immense. Based on the United Nations data, half of the world’s poor — those living on less than US$1.90 a day — are in this region. Amid rapid urbanization, one in two slum dwellers calls Asia-Pacific home. A person living in Asia-Pacific is also five times more likely than someone living outside of it to be hit by a disaster, increasing the risk of losing his or her home.

Through shelter, we empower

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity began in 1976 as a grassroots effort, growing to become a leading global nonprofit working in more than 70 countries. In the Asia-Pacific region since 1983, Habitat has supported millions of people to build or improve a place they can call home. We are active in Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

How Habitat works

For decades, Habitat for Humanity has set the stage for families, volunteers, donors and supporters to come together, to build decent homes that provide the foundation for a better life. Working in a region as diverse as Asia-Pacific calls for collaborative and innovative approaches to complex housing issues. We need people-public-private partnerships to facilitate better access to adequate and affordable housing and to develop more inclusive housing markets.

: Habitat for Humanity builds affordable, durable homes that comply with the national building codes in the countries that we operate. In the use of appropriate construction technologies, we leverage and promote locally available materials, sound traditional practices and academic research for a homeowner-driven approach to decent housing. We also train local builders and masons in the use of appropriate technologies. Innovative techniques often lead to cost savings and less impact on the environment. In the Asia-Pacific region, we build homes with a variety of technologies and materials such as bamboo, compressed stabilized earth blocks, interlocking blocks and prefabricated concrete panels.

: Every disaster is an opportunity to build stronger, more resilient homes and communities. We adopt the “Pathways to Permanence” approach to help families build back safe and find lasting solutions to their housing needs. We provide both immediate assistance that includes kits to clean up homes, for emergency shelter and personal hygiene, and recovery and reconstruction solutions through damage assessment, technical support, training, transitional shelter construction, home repairs and more. It is just as important to help communities prepare for the next time a disaster strikes. Through the PASSA training, that takes a participatory approach to safe shelter awareness, Habitat for Humanity and its partners including governments empower those who are vulnerable to hazards to create a stronger, more resilient community.

: Many families in countries where Habitat for Humanity operates are unable to obtain bank loans, financial services or afford housing by private developers due to the informal nature of their work. These households build their homes in stages as their families grow and as their limited finances allow. Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter was established in 2016 to help housing markets better meet the needs of low-income households. As it mobilizes investment capital for the housing sector, the Terwilliger Center works with market actors and companies to expand or innovate housing products, services and financing and shares knowledge on affordable housing.

: Habitat for Humanity has adopted a comprehensive and collaborative approach to address the complex challenges of urban development. Through engaging with the public, private and community sectors, we provide methodology and training to increase resilience, build community water and sanitation infrastructure, and develop scalable slum upgrading approaches, among others. We also promote inclusive housing and urban policies and advocate for increasing access to land for housing through Solid Ground, Habitat’s global advocacy campaign. In India, Habitat successfully petitioned the local government for secure tenure for the vulnerable Irula tribal families, through the provision of land titles.

: Understanding that adequate housing requires safe and reliable access to water and sanitation, Habitat for Humanity targets them as core components of its housing quality standards. We tailor our WASH solutions based on need, local context and the most appropriate and affordable options for both families and communities. In the Asia-Pacific region, our WASH initiatives include partnering with other organizations in the Sensitise to Sanitise coalition in India to increase access to clean water and safe sanitation as well as promote behavioral change; building community-managed water stations in Cambodia that support the local economy; and promoting menstrual hygiene in Bangladesh’s schools to remove stigma and improve school attendance for girls.

Leveraging partnerships

Habitat for Humanity works closely with all sectors — community, public, private and civic — to create a tangible difference in the lives of families through adequate, affordable housing. Volunteers are known as the hands and hearts of Habitat’s work. International volunteers on Global Village builds or local volunteers at build sites contribute their labor while others raise funds or make a donation. There are also those who provide technical expertise and many more who speak up for the need for decent housing.

Among our tireless champions are volunteer leaders on the Asia-Pacific Development Council. Influential in the corporate and philanthropy sectors, they provide strategic leadership and direction for Habitat for Humanity’s program and resource development initiatives in the region.

We believe that the youths are today’s leaders who will enable us to achieve inclusive, sustainable and resilient cities and human settlements. Habitat for Humanity’s Young Leaders Build campaign rallies youths from across the Asia-Pacific region to take the lead and motivate their peers to build homes and communities, on a Habitat build site and/or online. The youths also raise awareness and funds and lend their voice in support of adequate, affordable housing.

Through generous donors and gifts-in-kind, Habitat makes affordable housing available to families in need of decent homes. Working with microfinance institutions, we provide families with options for affordable loans. By partnering with foundations, organizations and institutions, we catalyze multi-year, multi-component community and sector building projects for greater impact.

In 2018, Habitat marked 35 years of building strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter in the Asia-Pacific region. Zhimin’s father had built a new home in Guangzhou, southern China, with Habitat more than 10 years ago. Now that he is a father, Zhimin plans to add another story to the house so that his two daughters can have their own rooms. He says: “I feel very happy that my children are growing up in a safe and clean home. They don’t have to face the tough life that I had when I was young.” Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, donate or volunteer, visit habitat.org/asiapacific.