Habitat for Humanity India Dedicates 321st Disaster Resilient Home In Kerala.

• Habitat for Humanity India has been working on ground to provide decent shelter for families affected by the Kerala floods since August 2018.
• This is the 321st home built or repaired by Habitat for Humanity India in the state of Kerala.

Kochi, 12th December 2019: “We were used to the heavy rains that lash Kerala every year. But the rains in August 2018 were different. As the water level started rising above danger level, we were rescued and moved to our relative’s home. We went home after eight days to find all our belongings damaged in the flood water. I could never have imagined rebuilding my home again. Thanks to Habitat for Humanity India, we now have a decent home that is way better than our previous home,” said 55-year-old Kuttan, Habitat Homeowner.

India witnessed the worst floods in Kerala in August 2018. Over 483 people lost their lives and about one million people were severely affected. Through the Pathways to Permanence model, Habitat for Humanity India has been working on ground in Kerala since the floods and has served more than 1,54,806 families by providing Humanitarian Aid Kits, Transitional Shelters, Conditional Cash Transfers, livelihood restoration and construction of new homes and repairs. With support from various corporate and individual partners, Habitat India has built 57 disaster-resilient homes and repaired 264 homes in Kerala so far. In addition to the direct impact of these 321 houses, Habitat has supported 121 families building disaster resilient homes in partnership with the Municipality of North Paravoor through its Housing Support Services model. Under the Housing Support Services model, Habitat India provides advisory support on technology, construction, documentation, monitoring and supervision to help families build their homes.

On 12th December 2019, families were handed over the homes by Mr. Rajan Samuel, Managing Director, Habitat for Humanity India, Mr. Ranjan Mathai, Independent Director, HDFC Life, Mr. Subrato Roy, Vice President Corporate Communication and CSR, HDFC Life, Sri V D Satheesan, MLA and Mr. Paul Thomas, Managing Director and CEO, ESAF to Kuttan and other Habitat homeowners. In partnership with HDFC Life, Habitat for Humanity India has built 20 new homes and repaired 22 homes in Aluva and North Paravoor, Ernakulam district, Kerala

“Lakhs of people were affected as the state of Kerala witnessed one of the worst floods of the century. Rebuilding the infrastructure and lives of the people will be a long process. Through this initiative, we have reaffirmed our commitment to help families affected by the floods return to a life of normalcy. We are glad that corporate organisations like HDFC Life have come forward to help us in building disaster-resilient homes to the families in Kerala,” said Rajan Samuel, Managing Director, Habitat for Humanity India.

“Driving a community-centric sustainable shelter initiative is key to enhancing the resilience of vulnerable populations in tackling climate-induced adversities. We intend to expedite efforts to rehabilitate the flood-affected families through such measures. With Habitat for Humanity India partnering with the families at the grassroots, we are confident that every family in Kerala will have a decent shelter they can call home,” said Sri V D Satheesan, MLA.