Habitat for Humanity’s Youth BUILD 2012 challenges 1 million young supporters in the Asia-Pacific region to raise funds and draw attention to the urgent need for decent housing.
Since January, volunteers have used their social and digital networks to encourage people to donate to Habitat for Humanity via the peer-to-peer fundraising platform www.habitatyouthbuild.org, to spread awareness as widely as possible and to encourage other young people to take part in building homes on May 12.
On that day, 5,000 youth put their raised funds to work in China, Indonesia, India, Thailand and the Philippines, where volunteers simultaneously built as many as 250 Habitat homes.
As part of Habitat India’s Youth BUILD launch in Bangalore, a “Youth for Habitat” concert was held in Mumbai. The hundreds of young people who turned up for the concert also heard volunteer leader Sneh Koticha share memories of her first Habitat build at the age of 16: “It was not only about the house and a healthier life for one family, but also the chance for one young girl to have an education,” Koticha says.
