As Habitat for Humanity reaches the 1 million mark for families it's assisted around the world, the Fiji branch is looking to promote its work by building two houses in two days in the middle of Suva.
Transcript
As Habitat for Humanity reaches the 1 million mark for families it's assisted around the world, the Fiji branch is looking to promote its work by building two houses in two days in the middle of Suva.
Next month's Youth Build programme will see the Pacific's only Habitat programme construct the houses in Sukuna Park for the public to view.
Habitat Fiji's Masi Latianara told Koro Vaka'uta the organisation has come along way since it was first set up in Fiji in 1991.
MASI LATIANARA: We've moved into WASH which is; water, sanitation and hygiene. Maybe over 4000 families now. Our target group is families that cannot provide safe housing for themselves, WASH facilities. Habitat believes that the poverty cycle can be broken with decent housing. Because housing is such a huge investment. So if we can remove that burden from families who are really living hand to mouth. They can use what income they do have on other important aspects of their lives.
KORO VAKA'UTA: Coming up a first for Habitat, for Humanity Fiji anyway is the participation in a Habitat youth build programme.
ML: The Habitat youth build period is between December 5th and early part of March next year. Habitat Fiji will be participating in three events. The first event is a Facebook launch. The second event is a very high profile build of two incremental houses and these will be built in the middle of Suva City, in a park in the middle of the city. The new Zealand Aid Programme, they are sponsoring the two houses. The build is over three days. We'll build the houses in one day, keep them up for one day, and pull them down in one day. The third event will remove the houses and build them in the actual location. We have a couple of families and we'll build the houses in the locations where the families live.
KV: What's the point of building the two houses in Sukuna Park?
ML: That site is very high profile and the reason why it's called the Habitat youth build is that this event is really focussed on creating future supporters of the Habitat work. Habitat relies a lot on volunteers and a lot on the good will of people and that usually stems from people knowing what we do.
KV: In the time that you've been with Habitat for Humanity Fiji, have you seen the need or the demand for your assistance, increase, decrease, or stay the same?
ML: One area that we've come into in the last maybe three years is disaster response, particularly in the Pacific region. There are more and more natural disasters, the sea level rise, the cyclones and tsunamis. A lot of people's homes are affected. Probably the most affected are those that do not live in adequate housing. Simply because structurally they are not sound enough to withstand the effects of natural disasters. So this is a big area that we've come into where there's a big need for shelter assistance.
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