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The Global Village program – a perfect fit

The success of the Kapumfi Project – under which the Scotch Family funded the construction of a school for disadvantaged Zambian children – created a groundswell of enthusiasm for a new humanitarian project somewhere in the world.

The question was – what kind of project? Beginning a new major project could have been a little hasty, as it had taken five years for the Kapumfi project to be completed. A short-term, hands-on initiative was sought. Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village program emerged as the perfect fit.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit Christian organisation which uses volunteer labour and donations of money and materials to build or rehabilitate simple, decent, affordable houses for disadvantaged people. More than 300,000 houses have been built worldwide. The houses are not gifted; the would-be owners must pay back the loan as a long-term, affordable mortgage, as well as putting in 500 hours of ‘sweat equity’ to keep the program running.

The first Scotch Global Village team travelled to Cambodia in June 2008. Last year teams went to Fiji and Thailand, and in June this year two teams visited Cambodia. The stories of the latest Cambodian projects appear on these pages.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Habitat for Humanity Australia, at suite 2, level 9, 20 Berry Street, North Sydney NSW 2060; email info@habitat.org.au; phone 1800 885 599; or visit www.habitat.org.au.

Updated: Monday 24 June 2013