BUILDING HOMES, COMMUNITIES AND HOPE

About the project

THIS WEEK: ‘MANY HOMES, ONE COMMUNITY’ IS THE THEME OF UNITED NATIONS WORLD HABITAT DAY 2012

JEANNIE MCCANN AND JOANNA BUTCHER, HABITAT

FOR HUMANITY IRELAND

Dorcas Phiri lives in Zambia. When she was 16, her father died and her mother disappeared. She was forced to leave school to look after her three younger

Habitat for Humanity’s orphaned and vulnerable children project in Zambia engages communities to build durable, healthy, sustainable houses; supports and encourages caregivers to write wills, and carries out training on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment.

For each of the families that have benefi ted from this project, decent housing is the fi rst step in reducing their vulnerability and providing a solid foundation on which other critical services, including healthcare, nutrition and education, can be built. These families can stop living day-to-day and begin to plan for the future. This project is co-funded by Irish Aid.

2nd October 2012 Volume 15 No.2

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

siblings and the family lived in a makeshift tent for over three years.

As part of Habitat for Humanity Zambia’s Orphaned and Vulnerable Children project, Habitat built Dorcas and her siblings a durable, healthy, secure home of their own.

Now all of Dorcas’ siblings are back in

• Development • Rights and Responsibilities• Human Dignity

CSPE CORE CONCEPTS

school and hoping for a better life. With Habitat’s help, Dorcas has also gone back to school as a teaching assistant.

“The day we moved into this house we couldn’t believe it, we were very happy. We couldn’t believe that we now have our own house to live in, a very safe and nice house.”

1 Dorcas Phiri standing in what is now her new Habitat home © Habitat for Humanity

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Habitat for Humanity Ireland is a development organisation which seeks to bring people together to build homes, communities and hope.

In more than 90 countries around the world, including Ireland, Habitat

Every year the United Nations declares the fi rst Monday of October as ‘World Habitat Day’. This year, on the 1st October, Habitat for Humanity joins the UN and other organisations around the world to raise awareness, as well as educate and mobilise individuals and communities to take action on the

• About 1.6 billion people live in substandard housing around the world.

• Each week, more than 1 million people are born in, or move to, cities in the developing world.

• Habitat for Humanity serves a family every seven minutes.

• 1 billion people live in urban slums. If no urgent action is taken, this will increase to 2 billion by 2030.

• Habitat for Humanity has served more than 500,000 families in more than 90 countries.

engages families and communities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; advocates for fair and just housing policies; and provides training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.

current global housing crisis.The aim of World Habitat Day is to

focus on shelter. This year’s theme, ‘Many Homes, One Community’ highlights the role that affordable housing plays in lifting families out of poverty and creating sustainable communities.

About Habitat for Humanity Ireland

World Habitat Day

HOUSING IN NUMBERS

Volunteer experience

Last Easter, I was lucky enough to travel to Nepal as a member of the 2012 Habitat for Humanity team from The High School Rathgar.

Having seen how much my own family had learnt from their trips with Habitat, I knew I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by.

Our team of sixteen students and fi ve

teachers was the sixth group to travel from The High School. Over the course of these trips we have raised a combined total of over €250,000 for Habitat for Humanity Ireland.

I had never been to a developing country before. I didn’t know what to expect, having had very little building experience; like the rest of the team, I wondered how we could possibly build two houses in ten days, but we did!

The team was split to work on two separate sites, which inevitably led to some friendly competition!

We were building with bamboo, and along with the families and locals we constructed a basic four-room house, which would serve the entire community.

One of the best things about the trip was working with a great team of people. The work was tough. It was tiring, hot and

tedious at times but we made sure we kept each other smiling!

It was obvious that by the end of our time there, we had made a huge difference to the lives of the family whose home we had built, which is something I am still proud of and will be forever.

It was such an incredible experience, and I hope that many more people become involved in projects like this one.

1 High School student, Hugh Sweetman playing with local children

7 Laura Rankin with her new Nepalese friend

LAURA RANKIN

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

In April 2012, The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, celebrated with two families who are becoming Habitat homeowners in Dublin.

Habitat partners with Dublin City Council to renovate derelict houses which are based in areas which have access to essential services and a strong community support network. This initiative enables low income families to become fi rst time homeowners. Families are selected from the Dublin City Council housing lists according to their level of need, their ability to repay

a small mortgage and their willingness to work onsite.

President Higgins said, “Real engagement and meaningful participation by each and every citizen in building community and strengthening civil society is not just a hollow aspiration. The work undertaken by Habitat for Humanity and its partners on this project is a visible manifestation of the kind of transformational change that can take place when people mobilise around a positive vision and follow through with purposeful action.”

President Higgins,Habitat for Humanity Ireland’s Patron

1 President Michael D. Higgins, Habitat Ireland’s patron, with Habitat homeowner Fiona Corcoran. © Habitat for Humanity Ireland/Dylan Vaughan

1 In Cambodia, Habitat supported twenty-two families to relocate from a dumpsite in Phnom Penh to the New Holistic Hope Community. The move provided residents with a community centre, job opportunities, a community farm, access to education and a free medical clinic within walking distance of their new homes.

1 Rolph “Jerry” Joseph (13) and his family live in this new model of Habitat transitional shelter which they moved into after their home was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake. © Habitat for Humanity International/Ezra Millstein

Homeowner Srey Sopha pictured outside her home at the Steung Meanchey dumpsite before she was relocated to a Habitat house in Oudong. Pictured in the

foreground are her three sons, (L-R) Pich Ry Sothyvan (3), Pich Ry Pirun (7) and Pich Ry Sophearith (13). © Habitat for Humanity

In the Port-au-Prince community of Simon-Pelé, the community is working together to identify priority needs in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake. One of Habitat’s community led projects is designed to build community self-confi dence, create a platform for ongoing engagement, and initiate post-earthquake reconstruction in a way that builds on existing community strengths.

In Macedonia, Habitat is addressing the needs of the Roma community, the most deprived ethnic group of Europe.

The Roma Housing Rights project in Macedonia brings together local community leaders, local NGOs, and local and national government offi cials to increase awareness among the Roma of their rights. The project is tied to additional housing microfi nance projects, technical assistance projects and other services to create access to adequate housing solutions for the Roma.

1 Vasilevo, Macedonia: A boy is tasting water from the new drinking water pump that Habitat Macedonia installed for the residents of Vasilevo. © Habitat for Humanity

ACTION POINTS

• Competition: Write a short blog post on the theme of World Habitat Day, “Many homes, One Community”. Email your post to info@habitatireland.ie. Remember to include your name, age, school and contact telephone number. We will post the best entries on our blog: www.HabitatIreland.ie/blog.

• Design a poster on the theme, “Many Homes, One Community” for World Habitat Day.

• Write social networking updates to explain the poster. Follow Habitat Ireland on www.facebook.com/HabitatIreland and www.Twitter.com/HabitatIreland.

• Sign up to volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity Ireland national bag pack in Tesco Stores around Ireland on 28th March 2013.

• Come up with two other fundraising events to support Habitat for Humanity Ireland’s work. Write a short paragraph explaining how

you would organise both of these events.

• Invite Habitat to come to speak at your school about how to become involved in their work at home or aboard. www.habitatireland.ie

BUILDING HOMES, COMMUNITIES AND HOPE

About the project

THIS WEEK: ‘MANY HOMES, ONE COMMUNITY’ IS THE THEME OF UNITED NATIONS WORLD HABITAT DAY 2012

JEANNIE MCCANN AND JOANNA BUTCHER, HABITAT

FOR HUMANITY IRELAND

Dorcas Phiri lives in Zambia. When she was 16, her father died and her mother disappeared. She was forced to leave school to look after her three younger

Habitat for Humanity’s orphaned and vulnerable children project in Zambia engages communities to build durable, healthy, sustainable houses; supports and encourages caregivers to write wills, and carries out training on HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment.

For each of the families that have benefi ted from this project, decent housing is the fi rst step in reducing their vulnerability and providing a solid foundation on which other critical services, including healthcare, nutrition and education, can be built. These families can stop living day-to-day and begin to plan for the future. This project is co-funded by Irish Aid.

2nd October 2012 Volume 15 No.2

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

siblings and the family lived in a makeshift tent for over three years.

As part of Habitat for Humanity Zambia’s Orphaned and Vulnerable Children project, Habitat built Dorcas and her siblings a durable, healthy, secure home of their own.

Now all of Dorcas’ siblings are back in

• Development • Rights and Responsibilities• Human Dignity

CSPE CORE CONCEPTS

school and hoping for a better life. With Habitat’s help, Dorcas has also gone back to school as a teaching assistant.

“The day we moved into this house we couldn’t believe it, we were very happy. We couldn’t believe that we now have our own house to live in, a very safe and nice house.”

1 Dorcas Phiri standing in what is now her new Habitat home © Habitat for Humanity

WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY:

Jeannie McCann, Joanna Butcher, Patrick Hunt

DESIGN: INM StudioWRITE TO US:

Debbie Brennan, In.Tuition,Irish Independent,

27-32 Talbot Street, Dublin 1.OR PHONE:

Customer Care Line at 023 8863850OR EMAIL US:

intuition@independent.ie

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Sport writing in a league of its own

Amanda and Sam named ‘Young Carers of the Year’A brother and sister have been named Young Carers of the Year for their tireless work in looking after two younger siblings with special needs.

Young Carers are carers under 18 years of age who provide care to ill or disabled relatives in the home. Their work often goes unrecognised and their own social, health and educational needs are often neglected.

While Amanda (19) and Sam Norris (14) from Finglas in Dublin often miss out on spending time with their friends to help their single mum look after Demi (15) and Adam (6), they would not change a thing.

Demi has the genetic condition Cohen’s Syndrome and is intellectually disabled while Adam is autistic. They also have another sister, Roisin (7).

Amanda and Sam were honoured last May at the Tunstall Emergency Response

1 Brother and sister Sam (14) and Amanda Norris (18) who help their mother of five, Antoinette, to care for their two siblings with special needs.

Carers of the Year Awards 2012.Amanda, who hopes to have a career

working with the disabled, said that, despite the hard work and sacrifices involved, she wouldn’t change her life.

Sam told how he takes special care of Adam and gets his younger brother dressed and ready for school and gives him his breakfast every morning. “You’re kind of used to it when you grow up with it,” said the teenager modestly.

Gift from Secret MillionaireThe Norris family featured in the RTE TV series ‘The Secret Millionaire’. In an episode broadcast last month, IT millionaire, Jim Breen, spent time with the Norris family, and was so impressed that he handed them a cheque for €10,000 to enhance the quality of life for the family.