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BANGKOK, June 18th, 2004 – Habitat for Humanity International
is extending into
four more countries in the Asia-Pacific region -- Afghanistan,
Laos, Myanmar and Micronesia. This brings to 29 the number
of countries and territories where Habitat
for Humanity has a presence in the region, and one hundred
worldwide.
The board of directors of Habitat for Humanity International
Inc. approved the
additions at its June meeting in MGexico City, Mexico
Other countries approved were Angola, Sierra Leone, Macedonia
and Turkey.
Habitat has been operating in the northern part of Afghanistan
for some time. It has assisted 459 families with new construction
and shelter renovations in Salbarun and Timorak villages near
Mazar-e-Shariff, under a “First Shelter” initiative
began in 2002.
A more sustained Habitat operation is now being established.
The six million people of landlocked Laos are among the poorest
in southeast Asia,
with an estimated 40 per cent of the population living below
the poverty line. Habitat plans to work in partnership with
another international non-government organization. 'The focus
will be on helping families in the three main population areas,
the capital Vientiane, Savannakhet and Luang Phrabang. The
first building is expected by mid-2005.
Habitat is exploring partnership opportunities in Myanmar
or Burma. The country
has a population of some 48 million, though some estimates
are considerably lower
due to the consequences of HIV/AIDS. According to World Bank
estimates, approximately one in four households
live below the poverty line. The first
Habitat building could take place in early 2005.
A group of volunteers is driving Habitat’s new program
in Pohnpei, the capital and
one of four states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia,
a UN Trust Territory under US administration. The isolated
islands stretch several hundred kilometers across the Pacific,
north of the equator and northeast of Indonesia
and Papua New Guinea. One third of the 100,000 population
live on Pohnpei,
one of the wettest places in the world: it rains almost every
day.
The Habitat team plans to establish a “Save & Build”,
“Save & repair”
and “core” housing programs in the near future.
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