New York, Sep 3 (IANS) Former US president Jimmy Carter will lead around 2,000 volunteers from across the world Oct 29-Nov 3 in building around 100 houses for low-income families in Maharashtra.
The project, called Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP), will be implemented in partnership with Habitat for Humanity India Trust (HFH India Trust) and Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) at Patan village, Lonavla, near Mumbai.
The houses will be primarily for families headed by women. HFHI had late last month formally teamed up with SAMPARC (Social Action for Manpower Creation), based in Maval sub-division near Mumbai, to officially pave the way for the project.
A formal memorandum of agreement was signed at a special ceremony at the SAMPARC Balgram village in Maval, near the hill resort town of Lonavala. Among those attending the ceremony were representatives of the families who will benefit from the project.
The 100-home JCWP project involves members of various self-help groups run by Abhinav Cooperative Credit Society (ACS), an arm of SAMPARC, according to an HFHI statement. The beneficiaries have been selected from 12 of the villages where ACS is active. The families were recommended by ACS and selected by a committee representing both Habitat and ACS.
The families have been selected on the basis of need, ability to repay, willingness to partner with Habitat and contribute "sweat equity".
Families have already started volunteering their time - their "sweat equity" - attending the work site in groups each day, participating in sticking and laying blocks, working on a test house and other jobs. By the end of the JCWP week, each family will have put in 300 hours of work at the site, the statement said.
The estimated cost to build a semi-detached unit, or twin one-storey home is Rs. 200,000 ($4,495). Of the total cost of the unit, each homeowner will pay Rs.75,000 ($1,700) through a monthly payment, not including interest, over seven years.
The remaining cost will be supplemented by HFHI grants, which will include corporate, individual and foundation sponsorships. Once the mortgage is paid, the homeowners will receive a deed of trust. A total of $2,286,537 is needed to complete the construction portion of this project.
"...The Jimmy Carter Work Project 2006 is just the beginning," Vaishali Kushan, grants development officer at HFHI, told News India Times, an ethnic Indian newspaper.
"This major public event will launch an even more ambitious project, 'IndiaBuilds', which will ensure the long-term viability of Habitat for Humanity India Trust and provide decent homes for 250,000 low-income individuals by 2010," she added.
The programme hopes to mobilise one million volunteers and raise $100 million dollars for a revolving housing fund.
According to an HFHI statement, this year's JCWP will be the 23rd such project. It has been held in Asia twice before, in Philippines in 1999 and in South Korea in 2001. The 2005 JCWP was held in Michigan in the US.