Photo: Lafarge Cement Vietnam Head of Human Resources Hanh Tran layering new bricks to a house in Dong Nai.     Twenty-five volunteers from Lafarge Cement Vietnam went on a build trip in Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province on 15 June 2010. The team worked with two families whose poorly conditioned houses were in immediate need of reconstruction.   Living under the poverty line for many years, both families of Mai Van Duong and Truong Van Son were sheltering under old houses made from palm leaves and tin sheets with no foundation; a rain or wind storm could have easily been destructive to them. Through Habitat for Humanity Vietnam, Lafarge Cement has made a generous donation in cash and cement together with their volunteer build day. In addition to the local government’s support, this has helped the families to finally be able to meet a very urgent demand of survival—namely decent and safe housing. On the same ground, the old temporary shelters were demolished to build up new permanent homes.   With a large team and remarkable dedication, Lafarge builders managed to get more work done within a day than expected despite a heavy rain in the afternoon. The team worked actively: painting doors, building up walls, mixing mortars, transporting materials and layering soil and stone for the floor. By the afternoon, at Mai Van Duong’s house, one team painted most of the doors and windows and completed the living room’s final coat of paint. Meanwhile, the other team laid out the floor with stones and built up part of the inner wall for Truong Van Son’s house. When the volunteers left, the families carried on the construction and completion works. Both houses are expected to be completed in early July. 

Ms Nguyen Thi Nguyet, mother of a eight member family, has replaced her degraded house (upper) with a well constructed one (lower) from her partnership with Habitat Vietnam's microfinance program.    ConocoPhillips and Habitat for Humanity Vietnam (HFHV) assisted nine families in Tien Giang and Dong Nai provinces in rebuilding and repairing their houses. Since 2007, in addition to annual Global Village volunteer trips, ConocoPhillips has donated generously to HFHV’s microfinance projects to enable disadvantaged communities throughout Vietnam to improve their living conditions.    Houses made of dry leaves, earthen floors and rotten wooden pillars have been replaced with sturdy ones made of durable materials that have sufficient facilities for the families’ daily needs. HFHV’s microfinancing diverts loan repayments into a revolving fund aimed at assisting additional needy families and is expected to expand in the coming years.    According to government statistics, more than 10,000 families in Vietnam lack adequate sanitation and at thousands of homes are made with biodegradable materials such as dirt, palm leaf thatching, untreated wood and grass that only last 2-4 years in tropical climates. Such housing is susceptible to dampness and mildew which contribute to illnesses directly impacting child and adult mortality rates. Studies have shown that children in substandard housing study less, invite fewer friends to their homes and are less likely to complete high school than those in families that live in safe, healthy and more permanent housing with clean water and sanitation.   

Project: Housing and Sanitation Improvements for poor households- Project Length: February 2007-February 2010- Population: 2,253,300- Pop. Density (pers/km2): 382- Implementing Partners: Dong Nai Women Union- Corporate Partners: NikeThis project was established following the identification of the substandard living conditions that many local factory workers were returning to after their working day. Habitat partnered with Nike to improve the quality of housing, sanitation and water supply for 98 poor families in 4 communes in Vinh Cuu district in Dong Nai province.  The increased access to safe and secure housing is expected to improve health, wellbeing and productivity for the workers themselves, and their families.- Successes to date:      In Dong Nai, a total of 187 families served to date.