ETA Star Property Developers joins Habitat for Humanity to help build houses in Asia and Africa

Indian movie star John Abraham promotes giving-program during Ramadan

DUBAI, 3rd September 2008: ETA Star Property Developers, a real estate company based in the United Arab Emirates, has selected Habitat for Humanity International to benefit from its “Homes for the Homeless” initiative.

With its business partners, Dubai Lifestyle City, Homes r Us and Star Cement, ETA Star is donating a percentage of its total sales during the month of Ramadan to help build homes with families in need in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. The initiative will benefit Habitat for Humanity every September for the next three years.

Indian movie star John Abraham, a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity programs in India and a well-known celebrity in the Gulf is promoting the campaign through a series of print and TV advertisements.

Ramadan, the traditional month of fasting for Moslems, started on 1st September this year, and runs to the end of the month.

“We are delighted that ETA Star Property Developers, Dubai Lifestyle City, Homes r Us and Star Cement have joined with Habitat for Humanity to help families in need,” said Rick Hathaway, Asia-Pacific vice president, Habitat for Humanity International. “This partnership will help people living in unsafe conditions obtain access to simple, decent housing where they can raise their families in healthy conditions.”

Last year, the “Homes for the Homeless” initiative raised more than half a million U.S. dollars for the Red Crescent Authority to help build homes.

Abid Junaid, executive director of ETA Star, said: “In Habitat, we have found a proven organization that provides the right synergy in our mission to provide homes for the deprived and underprivileged.

“The Holy month of Ramadan is considered the time for giving; helping the needy. There certainly would be no better way than to help provide shelters to those underprivileged for whom sky is the only roof they can call their own.”

The power of advertising in the Gulf: the ETA-Habitat partnership is powered by advertisements highlighting the issue of inadequate housing and the endorsement of Indian movie star and Habitat ambassador John Abraham.