India’s ASK Group Commits Over US$1 Million To Build For 1,200 Families With HFH India

Two-Year Project To House Low-Income Rural Families In Maharashtra And Gujarat States

MUMBAI, 25th July 2008: Boosted by the success of an earlier 100-house partnership with Habitat for Humanity in western India, ASK Group has increased its support to build for another 1,200 families.

Round the table: (From left) Co-chair of IndiaBUILDS advisory committee Rajashree Birla, John Abraham and Asit Koticha. Standing is HFH India managing director Felix Fernandes.

The diversified Indian financial services group has inked a memorandum of understanding to donate 43.7 million rupees (about US1.1 million) to the two-year project to house low-income rural families in the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

In mid-2007, HFH India had signed another MOU with local charitable trust Anarde Foundation to build 1,000 houses in Gujarat.

Since October 2007, ASK Group has been a committed Habitat partner, donating 3.6 million rupees (more than US91,000) to fund an HFH India project to build homes for 100 tribal families in western India. It also sent employees to build with Habitat on the Karjat site, south of Mumbai. ASK Group was inspired to partner with Habitat following a call by Indian movie star and HFH India’s goodwill ambassador John Abraham.

During the MOU signing ceremony, which Abraham attended, Koticha was also invited to join Habitat’s IndiaBUILDS advisory committee by the co-chair Rajashree Birla and HFH India’s managing director Felix Fernandes.

TheIndiaBUILDS campaign aims to house 250,000 people over five years, mobilizing one million volunteers in the process and raising capital toward that goal.