Since 2018, Mardee has volunteered with Habitat Philippines to bring that vision of a world where everyone — families like hers, their neighbors and residents everywhere — can benefit from the stable foundation that solid homes and communities provide, especially in the face of disaster.

Recognizing the unique community insights and leadership potential of young people like Mardee, Habitat for Humanity International and the International Federation of the Red Cross created a youth-oriented training on Participatory Approach to Safe Shelter and Settlements Awareness — a hands-on method of disaster risk reduction related to shelter safety.  The training helps these emerging leaders hone their technical and management skills as they work to help reduce shelter-related risks in their low-income neighborhoods.

Trainees receive specialized support from mentors and facilitators and technological resources to analyze, learn, raise awareness, plan and develop improved living conditions and disaster-resilient communities. “I learned a lot in the training,” says Mardee. “It also boosted my confidence to do what needed to be done.”

Armed with her new knowledge and resources, Mardee led a group of 20 youth in identifying vulnerabilities to natural disasters in their flood-prone community of Navotas. Together, they drafted a community development plan and implemented waste management projects — including organizing weekly community clean-ups, establishing recycling collection facilities and hosting educational seminars — to help reduce blockage, improve drainage and alleviate the impacts of regularly occurring floods.

Amidst a different type of disaster — COVID-19 — Mardee led the group in distributing hygiene kits, launched a community pantry and helped organize workforce development trainings to further build the resilience of their hometown. And through partnerships with local government agencies, the crew was able to expand the reach and impact of each program.

“For solving waste management issues, initially we went door to door, but that did not work out well. Then we strategized to collaborate with local government. That changed everything,” Mardee explained during a session on youth-led solutions on housing and housing-adjacent issues at Habitat’s annual Asia-Pacific Housing Forum. At first, she admitted, it was a challenge to convince the government to listen and support these young voices.

“Initially, they refused our projects,” she said. “But we never gave up. We always remember that we are youth. We have the power to change anything.”

An inclusive approach

In 2016, going into her junior year of university, Kirby’s advocacy efforts were formally recognized with her appointment as a youth representative to the advocacy committee of Habitat’s U.S. Council. Habitat for Humanity International’s board of directors established the council to serve as a planning and policy-recommending body guiding the growth of our work in the U.S.

By bringing her experience in youth engagement to the committee, Kirby helped ensure that Habitat’s local, state and federal advocacy initiatives — including the national Cost of Home campaign — would reach and mobilize housing champions of all ages and backgrounds.

“With policy, we want to make sure it scoops up everyone — especially those with marginal identities regarding age, race, class, ability. Because if we make sure everyone is included, everyone is built up,” Kirby says. “The same goes for the internal work, the advocacy work. Who are we inviting to the table?”

Addressing who decides what the policy focus should be in the first place, who drafts the language, and who is brought into policymakers’ offices to advocate for it all impact how policy, once implemented, actually affects communities, she explains. “Renewing our internal focus on equity, diversity and inclusion affects the work that we put out,” she says. “By interrogating ourselves and our organizational practices, it enables us to serve our mission better and carry out work that is responsive to and indicative of the needs of the nation and the globe.”

“A never-ending process”

Kirby’s skills and passion for advocacy and inclusive teambuilding, honed during her volunteer assignments with Habitat, have helped guide her career as an equity, diversity and inclusion manager at a nonprofit global health organization. In turn, her professional experience and insights into the fields of global health and social justice — especially as they intersect with housing — have benefited the teams and committees she has served on.

“My time with Habitat has been a back and forth journey, always building off of itself,” Kirby says. “In the future, I want to continue to mirror these lessons, gaining new ones and reflecting them in new ways. A never-ending process of learning and growing.”