Mr Le Van Hien decided to use the photo with President Jimmy Carter as the first decoration item in his new house   Thirty-two families in Dong Xa village in Hai Duong province, now own a decent place to call home. On 19 January 2010, the home dedication ceremony took place with all homeowners, government partners and members of the Habitat Vietnam staff.   Mr. Cao Van Chung said with gratitude from his heart: “I don’t know what to say but thank you, thank you and thank you.” After years of waiting and months of hard work, together with his fellow villagers, Mr. Chung can now proudly start a new chapter in his life. The families are very happy to be in their homes before Lunar New Year, Tet, the most important holiday of the year in Vietnam.   Earlier last week, with the final touch-ups by a Global Village Team led by Wanda Smith, we were able to handover the community centre to the village. Ms. Smith said on her last day in Vietnam, to the homeowners, “in a few hours, I am going very far from here, but please remember that you will always be here in my heart.” The team also finished the preparation to lay the foundation for a new kindergarten in Dong Xa. Along with a new playground located next to the community center, the children of Dong Xa village will not have to cross the river to attend school any longer.   For more post CWP photos, please click here.  

Founded in the United States in 1976, Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing.  Habitat for Humanity has a vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat works with people of all backgrounds, ethnic groups and religions to build decent houses in partnership with families in need. Habitat for Humanity has built, renovated and repaired nearly 300,000 homes around the world, providing more than one-and-a-half million people in thousands of communities in countries and territories across six continents with safe, decent, affordable shelter.   Habitat for Humanity Vietnam Habitat’s work in Vietnam is undertaken through a branch office of Habitat for Humanity International that was established in October 2001.   Habitat Vietnam specializes in the implementation of sustainable community-based shelter, water and sanitation. The organization is committed to integrated community building solutions in Vietnam. It aims to improve living conditions and reduce poverty through partnerships with local organizations that address sustainable livelihoods, education, environmental issues, and in some cases legal issues, to ensure all causes and effects of poverty are addressed.   To meet pressing housing and development needs in Vietnam, Habitat developed a five-year strategic plan to serve 18,000 families by 2011. This will be done through core business models of housing microfinance, vocational and technical training, technical support in shelter, water and sanitation and transformational community development.   Habitat for Humanity Vietnam operates programs in Hai Duong, Vinh Phuc, Kien Giang, Tien Giang, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City, with more locations to come. More than 4,000 low-income Vietnamese families have partnered with Habitat for Humanity Vietnam to improve their housing and living conditions.   Our goals: Habitat for Humanity Vietnam helps people in need by building and renovating houses to achieve the overall vision of "A World where Everyone has a Decent Place to Live" Our strategic plan for 2006 – 2011 is: -       To exponentially increase the number of families served -       To help lead the transformation of systems that impact affordable housing -       To mobilize new capital to the global affordable housing market -       Habitat Vietnam and its covenant partners will be diverse, motivated and high performing.

  The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Vietnam was closed on Friday, 20th November, 2009 with a rousing ovation for the homeowner families and volunteers who completed construction that morning for 30 houses in Dong Xa village, Ke Sat town, Binh Giang district, Hai Duong Province; two homes had been completed earlier. From Monday through Friday, more than 400 volunteers joined in the construction of homes with low-income farming and fishing families in need of decent shelter. The new houses will help those families to escape overcrowded conditions, to access education and enjoy a more healthful living environment.    Please click here to view photos of the build week

Photo: Mrs. Ty in front of her newly built roof   It has been three months since Typhoon Ketsana hit Quang Nam province, but to Mrs. Ty, it feels like yesterday.  She still vividly remembers that day; her family had just finished breakfast when the strong winds approached and broke a sheet of her roofing. Immediately the whole family realized they had to leave. The couple tried to cover the area where they stored their rice before fleeing to a neighbour’s for shelter. Mrs. Ty was very emotional while recalling her child’s experience with the disaster, “he was so scared and cried as his grandfather carried him away.”   By noon that day, the rest of the roofing was completely gone, which she knew would happen, “the other houses have sturdy walls and a roof, mine does not. So, it was no surprise when my roof was the first to break,” she said.  Still, it was the first time in her life that she’s witnessed such devastation.  “My house was such a mess; it looked like a battle field”, Mrs. Ty said. More than 30 of her banana trees collapsed and her chickens died from the cold wind. Inside the roofless house, everything was wet and broken. They had to use plastic as makeshift bed sheets and temporary roofing.   The day after the storm, the couple began to clean up the mess, collect the old roof sheets and buy plastic sheets to cover their house. It has taken them awhile to recover as the temporary roofing they constructed was too frail to withstand the weather. “After the storm, whenever the wind came, the plastic sheets would tear little by little,” said Mrs. Ty.   A few weeks ago, the family was informed that they were selected to receive a new roof by Habitat Vietnam’s Ketsana Response Project. Once Mrs. Ty and her husband received the roofing materials, they immediately put up the roof, within a day. She said, overwhelmingly excited and happy, “in the summer, this new roof will cause the house to be cooler compared to the old metal roof we used. It’s also more weather resistant as it’s much thicker.”   In their three years of marriage, Mrs. Ty and Mr. Chanh have worked hard on their rice field, in addition to working for other farmers. However, Mr. Chanh has a disability in his right hand that prevents him from carrying heavy items and in recent years Mrs. Ty has spent more time taking care of their young child. “Our earnings are just enough for our daily needs; we have no savings. So when the storm struck, we could not afford to buy another roof. I’m so happy we’ve been given this roof,” said Mrs. Ty.     Looking cheerful, Mrs. Ty is sure that their house will stay strong because as she said “we’ve got solid materials and Habitat has already approved the quality of our construction.”