User:HFHTJ/sandbox

In Tajikistan, HFH was established in 1999 as separate charitable, humanitarian, nonprofit and nondenominational public foundation dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. It commenced operations in Tajikistan in partnership with Shelter for Life International, an American humanitarian organization, the same year, just two years after the end of the Tajik Civil War.

=Vision=

To become a catalyst for the cause of safe, affordable and decent housing by partnering with people and entities to increase access to safe and affordable homes through construction, financing and the promotion social housing institutionalization.

=Mission=

Habitat for Humanity aims to improve the living conditions of people in poverty housing. It strives to achieve this through building simple, decent and safe homes; working in collaboration with partners and communities; developing resources; using innovative technologies; and partnering with national and local government to influence change and advance better national housing policies.

=History=

Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan was established in 1999.

Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan’s first project was implemented in Kurgan-Teppa, a city in Southern Tajikistan that suffered greatly during the Tajik Civil War. Habitat supported 15 families, all of whom had lost their homes as a result of the conflict. From 1999 to 2003, in partnership with Shelter for Life International, Habitat for Humanity helped 67 families in Tajikistan, giving them decent and dignified places to live. In April 2003, HFHT was officially registered as a new affiliate and resource development office and soon afterwards, on 30th September 2005, HFHT completed its 100th house in Tajikistan. Over the last decade, Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan has diversified its areas of activity in order to increase its reach.

=Areas of Activity=

Habitat Tajikistan focuses its activities in the country around the following thematic areas:

1. Sustainable Building/Urban and Rural Housing. 2. Disaster Response. 3. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. 4. Capacity Development/Resource Center 6. Housing Finance Partnerships.

Urban and Rural Housing
To support low income families in improving their living condition, Habitat Tajikistan implements relevant housing interventions specifically designed both for rural and urban areas. The projects vary from house repair, completion of half-build homes, house reinforcement, winterization and new house construction with wooden carcass technology for rural areas, to new house construction and apartment renovations in urban settlements. Regardless of the type and area of the project, the integral part for all interventions remains a basic construction training of partner families that empowers them to build, repair and maintain their homes.

Completion of half-build houses in Asht
In the Asht district, bordering with Uzbekistan, around 30% of households have 2-3 families living under one roof. Almost 50% of the young families live in overcrowded, substandard housing and have plots of land with unfinished homes given to them during the Soviet times. Families simply have no recourses to complete them.

Habitat Tajikistan has initiated a project to support young families to solve their housing problem by providing construction materials needed for the completion of the half-build homes through affordable loans as well as construction expertise through on-the-job trainings, consultations and regular monitoring. To-date, around 50 low-income families have been supported and there is a plan to serve 50 more families in 2010.

New houses in Khujand
The majority of the new houses completed by Habitat in Tajikistan were performed in Khujand, in the north of the country. The productive partnership of Habitat Tajikistan with the local government and community has resulted in more than 100 new houses for low-income families.

This was all done in cooperation with the partner families. As a logical extension of the work, the city government has allocated land for 330 plots where Habitat plans to build 228 new houses.

To implement this project, Habitat Tajikistan has partnered with the Connect the World organization, the city government and local families. Within 4 years, the project will fund the construction of 228 homes and the provision of infrastructure such as water, sewage and electricity systems for 330 families. The project will deploy alternative energy sources to power the community using solar panels and wind farms. Solar water heating systems will be provided for each house. As part of the programme, Connect the World will offer the local community access to a broadband digital connection.

Winterization in Kumsangir and Rasht
During the winter of 2007-2008, Tajikistan experienced extremely cold weather, with the temperature dropping as low as –28°C. To survive, many families had to spend a greater part of their small income on heating and also burn home building materials when they ran out of money. Houses in rural areas of Tajikistan are poorly constructed and lack proper insulation, making them vulnerable to cold winters. Lack of floors and ceilings, plastic sheets instead of glazing, slots in the window and door frames leave houses unprotected. These were the findings of the house assessment survey conducted by Habitat Tajikistan experts in Kumsangir and Rasht. These problems are also widespread throughout rural Tajikistan.

Both in the Kumsangir and Rasht districts, Habitat Tajikistan implements projects designed to help low-income and vulnerable families to improve their housing and prepare for the severe winter condition. This is done by training the local population on insulation techniques and providing doors, windows, flooring and insulation for the windows and walls in the homes. To date, 90 families have been supported through this project and Habitat plans to serve a further 100 families in 2010.

Disaster Response
Every year, Tajikistan experiences over five thousand tremors and earthquakes. These can reach up to 7 or 9 on the Richter scale. The most vulnerable members of the population suffer most as they are more likely to live in substandard housing that will not withstand these quakes.

Habitat Tajikistan started a disaster response program back in 2007, after the devastating earthquake in the Kumsangir district, southern Tajikistan.

Being a member of the REACT network (Rapid Emergency Assessment Coordination Team), Habitat Tajikistan has implemented a number of partnership initiatives with local and international NGOs and institutes, such as Oxfam, Global Partners, UNDRMP, WFP, Caritas and Institute of Seismology. It served more than 300 families in the Kumsangir, Khuroson, Rasht and Norak districts.

In close partnership with the Institute of Seismology, Habitat Tajikistan developed an affordable, environmentally friendly and locally replicable technology to make the homes of vulnerable communities more earthquake resistant. The technology has been adopted and included into the official construction code as a norm for rural houses construction.

The main Disaster Response and Mitigation projects Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan implements are:

•	Reinforcement of homes in earthquake-risk zones - Rasht and Kumsangir. •	Relocation from high mudslide-risk zones – Norak and Khuroson. •	Building and Training Centre - Kumsangir.

Water and Sanitation
According to the World Health Organization data, Tajikistan has the worst access to drinking water in the former Soviet Union. Over 52% of the population contract one or more water borne diseases annually. The poorest members of the population are least likely to have access to a decent water supply – 36% of the population has no access to safe clean. More than half of the rural population, around 3 million, rely on irrigation water in summer and water wagons in winter for daily water needs.

Habitat Tajikistan, in partnership with local NGOs, implements in the rural communities of Khatlon region a community-based project. It is designed to improve the health of the population by improving the quality of drinking water through health education, ownership of natural resources, installation of water reservoirs and bio-sand water filters.

Through this project, Habitat introduces environmentally friendly and sustainable technology that contributes to a positive environmental impact. The bio-sand water filter is inexpensive, sustainable, requires no chemicals or electric power, and can be assembled from locally available materials. The bio-sand water filter eliminates over 90% of waterborne diseases and parasites and produces up to 60 liters of improved water per hour, sufficient for 18 people. With regular maintenance and servicing, the system can last for up to 20 years.

So far, in the Kumsangir district, more than 16,000 residents have been provided with access to improved drinking water through the distribution of 1100 filters.

Habitat for Humanity Tajikistan is an active member of Tajikistan Water Supply and Sanitation network that is supported by the Swiss Development Agency (SDC) and facilitated by Oxfam Great Britain.

Capacity Development – Habitat Resource Center
With the support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Habitat Tajikistan established Building and Training Centers (BTC) in two impoverished areas of Tajikistan. This project contributes to social and economic development of the country. The Centers with manufacturing facilities have been established in Asht and Kumsangir and offer vocational education programs on welding, electricity, masonry, plastering and painting. These courses will be integrated into the state-run education system. The Centers are designed to create employment opportunities and enhance self-employment options for disadvantaged groups, while simultaneously assisting local communities to improve living conditions through building, renovating and maintaining safe and decent homes.

The first Building and Training Center was launched in 2009 in the Asht district, in the country’s northern province of Sughd. The second Center, was opened in the southern Kumsangir district in 2010.

Through the 18 courses offered by the Centers, 216 individuals will annually gain vocational skills and HIV/AIDS awareness, Through the local production of cost-effective building materials, families in need will have access to alternative and affordable building materials. Approximately 282 homes will be renovated or completed and 1500 individuals trained on earthquake resistant house construction within 3 years of the project in the Kumsangir district. In both areas more than 50 people will be employed by the centers.

Housing Finance Partnership
Habitat Tajikistan implemented its first microfinance partnership project with the First Microfinance Bank Tajikistan that has enabled 30 families to improve their living condition. Habitat Tajikistan intends to establish partnership projects with microfinance institutions to offer housing improvement loans for water and sanitation, construction of new houses, home repair and reinforcement, as well as financial education on remittances.

In 2009, Habitat Tajikistan, in partnership with the First Microfinance Bank and with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, launched a project designed to promote formal savings. Such investment practices for remittance funds can be effectively used towards home improvement projects intended to advance the quality of life of low income families. Through this project, opportunities to expand and reinforce the link of remittances with home improvement will be studied, including the possibility of savings in the formal financial sector. The combined approach of Habitat Tajikistan and the First Microfinance Bank will provide affordable and sustainable social housing for low income families in rural communities.

=See Also=

=References=

=External Links=

www.habitat.tj