Habitat for Humanity Australia, a leading not-for-profit provider of housing for families in need, have launched an overseas volunteering campaign to celebrate and acknowledge International Women’s Day in March, 2024. The eight-day experience in Siem Reap, Cambodia gives individuals the opportunity to join an enthusiastic team of men and women who will get their hands dirty in programs that support gender equality to enable and empower women. Volunteers will work shoulder-to-shoulder with in-country support staff, local Khmer tradespeople and community members to build safe and secure homes for those in need. Working alongside them will be the deserving families who will move into the newly built homes.
“The International Women’s Day build will be life-changing, not only for the families we will work alongside, but also for the volunteers. A home provides much more than a roof overhead. It leads to improved access to a quality education for children, water, sanitation and hygiene, and the empowerment of women in their community. I hope to see you there!” Nicole Stanmore, CEO.
Siem Reap Province is one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia. Even though Siem Reap is home to Angkor Wat and many other religious sites and is a major tourist destination, it still has great poverty, with approximately 30 percent of households living below the provincial poverty line.
In Cambodia, poverty affects women’s health and reduces opportunities for further education, community involvement and leisure. The burden of unpaid care and domestic work is one of the biggest obstacles to gender equality in Cambodia, with women doing, on average, 90% of that work. This unequal distribution is seldom addressed by public policies or development efforts.
For more information about the International Women’s Day build visit our webpage here, the dates are 2nd – 9th March 2024. Registrations close January 5, 2024.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a leading not-for-profit provider of housing for families in need. Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, worldwide Habitat has helped 46 million people build homes, communities, and hope. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families build a better tomorrow, today. Through shelter, we empower.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has built or repaired over 1 million homes, sheltering more than five million people in over 3,000 communities. Across the Asia Pacific, we have designed and implemented innovative programs to empower communities to become stronger and more resilient in times of need.
About Global Village overseas volunteering program
Global Village is Habitat’s short-term international volunteer program that brings people together to build and improve homes and the health and wellbeing of families and whole communities. No experience or skills are required and people of all ages 15+ and fitness levels are welcome.
Each year over 600 Australian’s travel overseas to participate in the Global Village program to help build a home for a family in need of safe and decent housing.
Our volunteers play an important role in our work. They fundraise for the cause – which goes towards the project they are volunteering on. When on the ground, our volunteers see first-hand the impact a safe home can have, and also the conditions families are presently living in. Our volunteers become amazing advocates for our cause and enable Habitat to help more families out of poverty.
Through their support, and that of our donors, Habitat can provide housing, access to clean water and training in areas of livelihoods and financial literacy to partner families. This ensures our programs build independence and truly provide a hand up, not a hand out.
To find out more and sign up please visit our website via this link