Representatives of the partnership at the signing ceremony, from left: Mr. Robin Shell, Country Director of Habitat for Humanity Vietnam; Mr. Hank Tomlinson, President of Chevron Vietnam Ltd.; Mr. Vu Xuan Hong, President of Vietnam Union of Friendship Organization, Mr. Yusuke Kuwauchi, Chief Representative of MOECO in Hanoi; and Mr. Surachai Tanasomboonkit, Manager, Joint Venture Vietnam Assets, of PTTEP. July 22, 2010 – Chevron Vietnam Ltd. (US), Mitsui Oil Exploration Company Ltd (Japan) and PTT Exploration and Production Ltd. (Thailand) committed today to donate US$25,000 to help Habitat for Humanity Vietnam support low-income households in Kien Giang province. This partnership will directly benefit about 49 households from the “Housing, Water and Sanitation Improvement and Credit” project, which provides microfinance loans for housing repairs and renovation for people in need of decent shelter in the Me Kong region. A signing ceremony was organized with the witness of Vu Xuan Hong (Mr), President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organization. 

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 microfinance program in Kien Giang has benefited baby Nguyen Thi Que Tran and her mother with a cleaner playground free from mosquito and dampness.   When Nguyen Thi Que Tran’s parents built their house in 2007 in Kien Giang province, they had no idea that their days of living with mud and mould would last nearly three years. With the house located right next to the river, the water levels could almost reach their floor and the compacted soil made it an ideal place for mosquitoes and dampness.   After one year of living in the house, the couple attempted to repair the floor. They accumulated floor tiles to prepare for the construction, but had no idea when the job would actually start. Tran’s father is a blacksmith working away from home and her mother raises chickens and pigs. Despite immediate needs to improve the housing condition before having their first baby, house renovations were not affordable for them. About six months before the birth of Tran, her parents were introduced to Habitat for Humanity Vietnam’s microfinance program and they seized the opportunity without delay. In August 2009, Bernadine Reeves, Habitat's Global Village team from the United States, visited Tran’s family and worked with her parents to upgrade the floor. For five days, Tran’s father and the volunteer team dug the foundation, transported mortar and cemented the floor. Tran’s father recalled his experience working side by side with the international volunteers: “The three of them worked very hard and learnt the local construction technique incredibly fast.” Tran’s mother remembered that they greatly enjoyed banh tet (savory cake made from glutinous rice) when she invited them to try. After the volunteers left, Tran’s parents continued to work for two more weeks to finalize the brick tile and even managed to build a kitchen cupboard with the remaining materials. Now the new floor is not only solid, but also 30cm higher than before. Tran’s parents hoped that Tran would learn to crawl and walk on this new clean floor. They also planned to continue borrowing from Habitat’s revolving fund to build a new toilet and a water pump once they’ve completed the floor loan repayment. Baby Nguyen Thi Que Tran was born in January 2010 and named after a well-known Vietnamese cai luong (folk opera) singer. Her parents want her to have the best when born into this world – and most importantly a better place to live. 

Phan Van Hai is among the five families in Hiep Duc district, Quang Nam province to build new homes in June during Habitat Vietnam’s Typhoon Ketsana Recovery Project. In Central Vietnam, on one of the hottest days in mid-summer 2010, when many of the crops in Quang Nam province are suffering from drought, as most of the wells in Hiep Duc district have already dried up and the humidity reached maximum, Phan Van Hai and his fellow villagers started digging a new well to collect water. They made a wooden lifting block and while one was hand-digging the soil, the other two lifted it up, pot by pot. They worked under the direct sun for three straight days but there was still no sign of water. Hai did not say much about the rough patches of his family, but his life story is written in the constant worry in his eyes. Hai’s wife, Huong, has been confined to  bed for six years suffering from bone osteoporosis. It’s been difficult for him to see the pain she endures and how her body is becoming smaller and smaller each year.   Hai owned a 2500m sq rice field and shared five hectares of acacia forest with two friends; in addition to that, he worked as a seasonal construction labor away from home. However, being the sole breadwinner for a family of five, Hai could never afford a decent place to live. The thatched bamboo house they had been sheltering in for ten years was without a door or windows. Instead, there were hundreds of holes created by gaps between the thatches. Every year Hai had to “rebuild” the house after the disaster season: making new thatches and patching them together, knowing that they would only last for one cycle of weather. Day four, there is still no sign of water. With almost no rain since the beginning of the year, Hai’s and four other families might be in a serious lack of water for the coming three months. During the dry season, sunlight directly went across the thatch and heated up his house up to outside temperature. Rainy season posed an even worse scenario with heavy rain and wind. The house’s location on a high hill made the situation even less bearable for the family members. In 2009 when Typhoon Ketsana came, along with half of the roof, the entire house’s thatches were completely torn off in a few minutes. In early 2010, Hai and his family were introduced to Habitat for Humanity Vietnam’s Ketsana recovery project in Hiep Duc district, Quang Nam. He became one of five homeowners working with Habitat Vietnam to construct his house in May and June. Hai decided to relocate the family to live near his mother’s place, which was situated lower down the hill and therefore, they would be less prone to typhoons and other calamities. With Habitat’s technical assistance, his newly-built house was designed to resist against natural catastrophes in the future. For example, a brick roof was selected over a steel roof to withstand storm winds.  Le Van Doan, Habitat Vietnam Construction Engineer, said: “The brick arrangement protects itself from flying off during strong wind. The roof is also more flexible to cope with wind direction.” Hai believes that with this disaster-proof house, all he needed to concentrate on now was working hard for his family. “I need not worry about the wind, the rain or anything else anymore,” he says. Hai and his neighbors also found hope at the end of the fifth day – signs of water finally arrived, along with other indications of a better chance in life.