新着情報：英語

Campus Chapters Across Japan to Raise Funds for Haiti

2010-12-24T15:00:00Z

On December Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th, 13 Campus Chapters (also known as the CCs; Habitat Japan's student support groups) hosted the nationwide donation drive.

300 young volunteers split into 14 locations across the country, Chiba to Oita prefectures. In hopes to raise awareness and funds for earthquake recovery in Haiti, the participating students bowed and talked to the passer-bys for two days; and resulted in 974,797yen (approx.10 thousand USD) raised in just two days.

One of the leaders of this event was Mr. Yuta Taka of Kwansei Gakuin University Uegahara Habitat CC. He said "A year has passed since the earthquake and the people have started to forget that it happened. We organized this drive hoping to bring back the public interest in the matter. When I was on the streets, I actually felt that many people were reminded of the tragedy that Happened to the people in Haiti."

Back in January 1995, Kobe city where Yuta is studying had experienced the massive earthquake. Thanks to the aids received nationally and internationally, the city seems to be completely restored now. Though it has been 16 years, the memory is still fresh for those who survived. Haiti maybe on the other side of the earth, there must be something we can do in Japan. The young volunteers came together to preserve the spirit of coexistence.

【Images】Each groups had their own unique tactics for the fundraising. Children to the travelers who happen to walk by, many people cheered for the students standing outside in cold and provided their share of contributions. Some OB/OG made surprise visits as well.

◆Participating Organizations (Locations)
【Kansai Area】
・ Kyoto University of Foreign Studies CC (Arashiyama, Kyoto)
・ Doshisha University CC (Kawaramachi, Kyoto)
・ Ritsumeikan University Kinugasa Campus CC (Kiyomizudera, Kyoto)
・ Kwansei Gakuin University Uegahara Campus CClub (Nishinomiya Kitaguchi and Nishinomiya Stations)
・ Kwansei Gakuin University Sanda Campus CClub (Daimaru in Motomachi, Kobe)
・ Kansai University CClub (Umeda, Osaka)
・ Kobe City University of Foreign Studies CClub (Daimaru in Motomachi, Kobe)
・ Ritsumeikan University Biwako Kusatsu Campus CClub (PARCO in Otsu, Shiga)
【Kanto Area】
・ Kanda University of Foreign Studies CC (Maihama Station)）
・ Waseta University CC (Takadanobaba Station)
・ Tama University CClub (Tama Center Station)
・ Chuo University CClub (Tama Center Station)
【Kyushu Area】
・ Ritumeikan Asia Pacific University CC (Beppu Station)

◆Online Coverages
・【Mainichi.jp】ハイチ大地震：忘れないで　国際NGO支部の学生らが募金活動／兵庫
・【Sankei News】ハイチに仮設住宅を　きょう神戸で　震災被害に学生、街頭募金活動

◆Related Articles
・ Habitat Japan to Raise Funds for Haiti Quake Reliefs
・ [Haiti-11] 10 Months After: Pathways to Performance
・ Habitat Japan's Youth Programs

HFH Japan's Office Hours during the Holiday Season

2010-12-24T15:00:00Z

Habitat for Humanity Japan office will be closed through December 27th to January 5th for winter holiday.

For inquiries, please contact us before/after the holiday, or please contact us through the online inquiry form, or leave messages through e-mail(info@habitatjp.org) or FAX (03-6459-2071).

If you need an immediate responce, please contact each staff in charge.

Habitat for Humanity Japan Team

Homeowner story: Nissan project in India - 75 Homes of Hope -

2010-12-15T09:08:19Z

75 Homes of Hope project with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. (Yokohama city in Japan)'s support, launched at Mangadu, a town in Kancheepuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in April 2010, is being curried out to build shelters for socially and economically less fortunate families. This makes a homeowner story about one of 75 families, named K.Saroja.

K. Saroja (60 years) is residing in No. 64, K.K Nagar, Mangadu, Chennai. Her husband Kulanthaivel passed away years back. As a widow, she struggled through life and did odd jobs to make ends meet. She does not work at present. She has an unmarried son living with her who works as a daily waged laborer and earns 3,000 rupees per month on an average.

For many years they have been living in a small house with a plinth area of 180 sq ft. The house was not built with good materials so the structure gave way to rain water seeping into the house. It became inconvenient for her to live in such conditions. She was glad to find out the government was providing a house under the BSUP scheme. With the hope of constructing a new decent house she had her old house demolished and began working on her new house. The government funds were not sufficient to complete her house and she was struggling to get financial aid from other sources. During that time she learnt of the project of NISSAN-Habitat For Humanity and WEEDs and sent in her application for support. Post the assessment she was selected to be a beneficiary in the project.

Saroja is very thankful for the assistance she is getting to complete her house through the NISSAN supported project. Earlier She did not have a toilet facility in her previous house and now with the toilet she feels the one attached to her house provides her with the privacy necessary.Today she feels more secure at night and does not have to worry about cracked walls and leaking roofs. The construction work of her house is completed and the final touches are underway. She says her new house is spacious and safe to live in and thanks God for sending a benefactor like NISSAN to her aid.

Carter Work Project 09: One Year Later - The Impact of a Home -

2010-12-14T15:00:00Z

One year had passed since the the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project (JRCWP09) united volunteers and families in need of decent, affordable housing in the Mekong region in November, 2009. Habitat built with nearly 166 families in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and China's Sichuan Province. In the weeks and months since the 3,000 volunteers from 32 countries departed, the families had been moving into their new homes and starting their new lives. This makes an one year reports on the lives of 82 families at Nong Kon Kru, the main site of the JRCWP09, a suburban district, a half hour drive north of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
　
A "New Community" takes shape
　
The dedication in January of a community center at Nong Kon Kru marked a new beginning for 82 families. "We gave a name to this community in Thai, Ban Mai Sa Makee, which　means 'New Community, New Unity'," said Habitat home partner and leader of the community Kumsaen Suon.

Among the first was vegetable seller Guan Matip. She was only too glad to bid farewell to her old house built over a polluted canal and prone to flooding during the annual rainy season. " I always thought that it would be impossible to have my own cement house in a clean new community, but my dream has come true."

Another Habitat home partner Chunkum Duangtip said " The community here has been very successful with working together ever since we began to contribute sweat equity (before the build week). This was very helpful in bringing the families together and getting to know one another prior to the build."

The impact upon nursing

Already the community is changing. Several families have added extensions. Others have started businesses in their homes. The houses are all well maintained showing the pride that the families take in their homes. One of the greatest impacts has been the creation of a secure and healthier living environment for children to play and grow.

For sustainable development

In one year after the JRCWP09 was held in 5 countries along the Mekong River, Habitat has shifted to a community support which is emphasizing on sustainability and health of the lives of families. This is Habitat's way and JRCWP10 was carried out to build, rehabilitate and repair 86 houses in communities across the United States.

◆Related Articles
・ The 2009 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project Comes To A Close !
・ The Everest Build in Nepal (Oct 2010)
・ The Blue Sky Build in Mongolia (Jun 2010)
・ The Global Build in India (Sep 2008)

December TWP Meeting Report (12/9)

2010-12-09T18:17:23Z

On December 9th, the last Travelers with a Purpose meeting of this year was held. Many students and handful of others stopped by on the way home from work. A decorated Christmas tree added the holiday spirit amongst the guests making themselves at home at Ben's Cafe.

There were two main topics the night.
First, HFH Japan shared the reports from Haiti earthquake recovery efforts and its progress after 10 months since the incidence. The reported facts that more than a million people are still living in the makeshift shelters like tents and many of them are suffering from secondary disaster like Cholera epidemic seemed to be surprised a lot of the participants.

Then the topic moved on to the report on the Everest Build held in Nepal in October. Gathering more than 500 volunteers from around the world, the event built 40 houses in just one week. Participants of the night seemed to be impressed how big the event was; many voiced "when is the next special build?" and "I will definitely take some day off from work to join!"

Amongst the participants gathered that night, there were some who actually joined the Everest Build, a person who had experience joining projects back home in Canada, and another person who joined the similar event named the Global Build 2008 held in India in 2008. Repeater and rookie "HABIBITO," or the participants of the Travelers with a Purpose meetings got mingle and share the stories first hand.

◆Next Travelers with a Purpose Meeting
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Date: February, 2011
Time: 7:30pm - 9pm
Venue: To be announced.
Admission: Free for everyone!
* The details to be announced on our website.
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◆What are the "Travelers with a Purpose" Meetings?
Habitat for Humanity Japan's "Travelers with a Purpose (TWP)" is an informal gathering for people (HABIBITO) to discuss and share their experiences and interests in volunteering, travelling, and other Habitat activities.

◆Want reminders for the upcoming TWP meetings?
Sign up (by sending a request to info@habitatjp.org) for the TWP exclusive mailing list for free to receive e-mail reminders about the Travelers with a Purpose activities.

◆ Read about the past meetings
≫August Meeting
≫June Meeting
≫April Meeting
≫February Meeting
≫December (2009) Meeting
≫November (2009) Meeting

[Haiti-11] 10 Months After: Pathways to Performance

2010-11-02T15:00:00Z

Help Haiti Rebuild. Donate Now

Relief and rehabilitation activities being underway

10 months after a magnitude-7.0 earthquake destroyed nearly 190,000 homes, the need in Haiti is still great and undeniable. 1.5 million survivors are homeless and displaced. Many families are broken or temporarily separated. Many children are now orphans with no resources.

■Quake survivors kept homless in "Tent cities"

Habitat has continued its rehabilitation effort and is now constructing about 70 shelters a week providing safe, dry housing for Haitians living in unhealthy, venerable conditions. At the same time, Habitat has provided more than 21,000 emergency shelters kits and conducted 2,000 structural damage assessments.

Habitat’s three-fold response benefiting affected families

Habitat has built over 900 transitional shelters in Cabaret and Léogâne (approx.450 for each) since April. Habitat’s transitional shelters are part of a larger initiative coordinated by the UN Haiti Shelter Cluster to provide a total of 125,000 transitional shelters by summer 2011, providing a safe place to live for approximately 625,000 people. The cost ranges from US$1,500 to 3,000 for each shelter.

■Newly built shelters in Léogâne

Emergency shelter kits that Habitat has distributed 21,000 units in Port-au-Prince and Léogâne, are now considered for Carrefour and Jacmel, with the corporation of many aid organizations financing and handling the distribution. (See pictures from HERE.)

Also, Habitat is also performing structural damage assessments in affected houses and advising families whether their home is livable, needs repairs or should be demolished. With a UN-Habitat grant, Habitat’ plans to assess 15,000 houses by the end of 2010, in areas hit hard by the earthquake: Port-au-Prince, Léogâne, Cabaret and Jacmel.

Habitat is commited to serving 50,000 families in Haiti over the next 5 years. To implement and expand its recovery efforts, Habitat has established community-based Habitat Resource Centers (HRCs). They are currently operational in 5 areas: Léogâne, Cabaret, Cap-Haïtien-Gonaïves and Hinche, employing local workers and providing them with training for building shelters to enhance local rehabilitation capacity and employment opportunities (Haiti’s unemployment rate is above 60%), while supplying families with courses for disaster mitigation and financial literacy. Based on funding, more centers are planned in Port-au-Prince and other locations such as Carrefour, Croix-des-Bouquets and Jacmel.

■Habitat Resource Center in Léogâne

◆Back Number
2010.05.19　Transitional Solutions & Resource Centers
2010.04.25　More 13,000 Shelter Kits Ahead of the Peak of the Rainy Season
2010.04.05　Test Builds for Transitional Shelters
2010.03.19　8,000 Shelter Kits Arriving in Haiti !
2010.02.17　Habitat Core Houses
2010.02.10　Multi-phase Strategy of Habitat’s Response in Haiti
2010.02.05　Habitat Starts Distributing Emergency Shelter Kits
2010.01.26　Establishing Habitat Resource Centers
2010.01.21　Habitat's Response to Haiti Quake Relief
2010.01.14　Habitat Japan to Raise Funds for Haiti Quake Reliefs

[Everest Build] Japan Hope Builders Completed Two Bamboo Houses !

2010-10-22T15:00:00Z

◆'The Everest Build Draws To A Close With The Completion Of 40 New Bamboo Houses ! '

October 8th marked the finish of the Everest Build in Pokhara, Nepal. 12 people (9 adults, 3 students) represented Japan, completing two new houses - numbers 13 and 14 out of a total of 40. The 12 team members were split into two separate groups, where they worked alongside other volunteers from New Zealand and Nepal (each work team consisted of 6 Japanese, 6 Kiwi and 3 Nepalese volunteers).

The homeowner families who were helped by these two teams are named Pushpa (no. 13) and Ravi (no. 14). The Pushpa family are descended from generations of astrologers. Nepal is a country where natural and spiritual occurrences are commonly seen as closely connected to the will of God, and many people make quite significant life decisions based on astrological advice.However in recent years, as younger people have come to place more faith in science than astrology, families like the Pushpas have fallen on hard times. It was their dream to have a strong home where they could raise their six children in safety. Up until now the Ravi family have survived through agriculture; it was their strong desire to go from renting to owning their own home that gained them recognition and participation in the Habitat’ assistance program.

The bamboo houses constructed this time are quite unique ? this was interesting for our team of Japanese volunteers, who were virtual beginners at building and had far more experience eating bamboo (takenoko) than building with it. Cutting it into strips of equal thickness was especially difficult, and our team worked hard from start to finish. To make the walls of the house, these strips were horizontally bound to vertical bamboo poles; the team divided work equally, taking turns at different tasks and aiming to produce the best work that they could.

【Above】After splitting the bamboo, the strips are attached to the framework to form the walls
【Below】Cement is applied to the bamboo walls and, after they have dried, they are painted

This work was undertaken by international teams made up of volunteers from many different countries. On the first day everyone felt naturally shy and the group was disjointed, but from the second day onwards everyone started to relax; the Kiwi volunteers even learned some phrases and jokes in Japanese, and little by little the smiles came out. Sometimes they made mistakes so that the Japanese that they had learned became totally unintelligible, but this was just another fun part of building together. By the time the project came to an end, the initial feelings of disjointedness had changed to togetherness.

The homeowner families and local volunteers also took part in the building with great energy and eagerness. Mrs Rupa Ravi was seen along with everyone else, hauling 30kg bags of cement and soil to and from the worksite. The participation of the local family in the construction of their new house is one of the key rules of Habitat's program, but everyone was impressed and encouraged to see her working not for the reason that it is the rule.

【Left】The harmonious Habitat team 　【Centre】The finished Habitat house ! (No.13)
【Right】Saying thank you and goodbye on the last day

On the last day all the participants and new homeowners gathered together for the houses' dedication ceremony. Although it was a sad occasion as everyone said goodbye, it was also filled with hope for the futures of the families. Gazing at his new home, Mr Pushpa said, "Look what a wonderful house we were able to build. This is all thanks to Habitat, and to everyone here - these six days have been truly enjoyable. We haven’t just received houses; we have received new hope and dreams for all of our futures".

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■ Having taken part in the Everest Build...
Ms Eri Okura: "These six days in Nepal have been the most meaningful of my life thus far. The experience of coming here, seeing this place with my own eyes and feeling it with my own hands is something that I will never forget. After I return home, I will think more about how I can help to make a world that is easier for all people to live in. It doesn’t have to be something big, I’d like to start with my everyday life. Building with Habitat is an experience that has changed me, not just for now but for the rest of my life. The most important thing is for people who are interested to actually take action".

Ms Miyuki Oshima: "My experience in Nepal is so vivid in my memory ? I remember everything I’ve done as if it were just yesterday. The great expectations and worries, the frustration of being unable to communicate properly, the difficulty of undertaking work with which I wasn’t familiar. But, more than any of that, the confidence and motivation that I feel as a result of this week. Sharing these same feelings, memories and experiences with people from all over the world has been a truly important opportunity for me, and sharing smiles and laughs with my many new friends has brought me much happiness".
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◆Related pages
・ 'The Everest Build Draws To A Close With The Completion Of 40 New Bamboo Houses ! '
・ 'Change Hearts. Join Hands. Build Homes with Habitat for Humanity in Nepal'
・ Pictures of the build week　Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 / Day 6
・ Movies of the build week (edited by Kiwi volunteers)
・ Short movie 'One-munite Bamboo House'
・ Short movie 'Everest Build Introduction'
・ Program Outline & Schedule

The Everest Build In Nepal Draws To A Close ! (Oct 3-8)

2010-10-18T15:00:00Z

We are happy to announce the successful completion of the Everest Build in Pokhara, Nepal where, between October 3rd and 8th, 40 new bamboo houses were constructed. This build program was undertaken by representatives of eight countries, including Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. 460 international participants worked alongside 200 local volunteers to make this event a resounding success. Habitat Japan sent 12 people from Japan to join the effort, completing two houses between them. ≫See here for more details on the efforts of the Japanese team

The actual build site, Lekhnath, is located around 20km east of the centre of Pokhara; ranging across an entire mountain, it takes around one hour to walk from the start to finish of the new houses. Unlike past program like the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project (JRCWP09) or the Blue Sky Build in Mongolia where everyone worked together centrally, participants were split into teams and assigned their own house(s) to work on. What's more, rather than simply using the established national groups, all nationalities were mixed to form truly international work parties. The 12 Japanese volunteers were split across two teams, working alongside participants from New Zealand.

【Above】After splitting the bamboo, the strips are attached to the framework to form the walls
【Below】Cement is applied to the bamboo walls and, after they have dried, they are painted

The first three days of work were mainly spent in thinly cutting the bamboo; this was then bound together to form the framework of the house. On day four and day five we were then able to apply cement to the frames to form earthen walls. Finally, once the walls were dry they were painted to complete the house. (see movies here)

On the final day, we were joined by Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav for the closing ceremony, where we celebrated the completion of the project and future work with Habitat for Humanity by dedicating the houses and cutting the tape of each one. Although they were naturally nervous at meeting the President for the first time, each of the new homeowner families was able to share their gratitude and many tears of happiness were shed. Several international media organizations were represented, with the success of the Everest Build being communicated to many different countries.

After 1996 the lives of the Nepalese people deteriorated as a result of the worsening civil war. Within a population of 10,000,000, 45% currently live in poverty, with many people living in cramped, straw-walled houses built on frames of rotting wood with basic thatched roofs. The Everest Build was an opportunity to celebrate the work of Habitat Nepal, who have helped 5,000 families since 1997, and to make a renewed commitment to the future by setting a goal of a further 5,000 successes by 2012.

◆Related pages
・ '[Everest Build] Japan Hope Builders Completed Two Bamboo Houses ! '
・ 'Change Hearts. Join Hands. Build Homes with Habitat for Humanity in Nepal'
・ Pictures of the build week　Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5 / Day 6
・ Movies of the build week (edited by Kiwi volunteers)
・ Short movie 'One-munite Bamboo House'
・ Short movie 'Everest Build Introduction'
・ Program Outline & Schedule

Corporate Team Build #3 - Credit Suisse in Tokyo with Habitat Japan

2010-10-16T15:00:00Z

On October 16th, Credit Suisse and Habitat Japan had the second annual "Credit Suisse Team Build 2010" continuing from the last year's collaboration. Credit Suisse Tokyo and Habitat Japan came together once again this year, based on the partnership between Credit Suisse and Habitat for Humanity since 2007; called "Global Volunteering Partnership."

The team traveled back to the same construction site at Asian Rural Institute (ARI) in Nasu of Tochigi prefecture. There, the participants build a poultry house and racks for firewood; in hopes to provide better learning grounds for ARI students who are here to become leaders in their home communities in Asian and African countries. The fence around the free-range poultry house that Credit Suisse built last year helped greatly in raising the chickens. Hence, ARI and its students requested to build another poultry house this year.

The work started from raising the stilts. But the rain from the previous day left the ground muddy and hard for the team to secure the foundation for the stilts. After trial and error including lining of the foundation with cement and leveling the uneven height of stilts, the team completed the frame of the poultry house.

The firewood racks are essential to organizing and housing of the fire woods for heating in upcoming winter. As it was the first time to use the power tools for many volunteers, there was a learning curb to it but everyone wanted to make a sturdy rack that lasts. In the end, the team seemed proud of the rack they completed with their own hands.

Besides working with hands, the team got to learn about the ARI's facilities and its philosophy on natural living. Thoughts and stories were exchanged over the lunch made with the organic vegitables and rice grown by the students.

◆Related Articles;
2009.09.19　Credit Suisse Team Build 2009
2008.11.12　Citi Group Team Build

2011 Spring GV Team Leader Training (Tokyo/Osaka) !!

2010-10-13T07:41:33Z

Dear Team Leaders of Global Village Program (GV),

We are sorry to announce that Habitat Japan will not conduct the Team Leader Training for 2011 in ENGLISH this year. However, the material package for "being qualified as a team leader for the Global Village Program" will be provided by postal mail for each team.

As your reference, the following is the brief information of the training in JAPANESE:
We are welcome that you participate in those trainings, and we will fully support to make your uderstanding at the trainings. For your registration, please fill the GV Team Leader Training Application Form out and then fax it to us. When we receive your fax, you will be informed by email from us.

◇OSAKA AREA◇
Date&Time: November 28 (Sun) 10:30-15:30
Venue: Kwanse Gakuin Univ. Osaka Umeda Campus Room 1406
(TEL：03-6459-2070)

◇TOKYO AREA◇
Date&Time: December 4 (Sat) 10:30-15:30
Venue: Kibe hall Room 309
( next to St. Ignatius Church in front of Sophia Univ. *One minute from the JR Yotsuya Station )
(TEL：03-6459-2070)

Participation Fee: Free

Thank you

Global Festa Japan 2010 Report!

2010-10-05T08:43:54Z

Habitat Japan participated the biggest annual international cooperation event in Japan, “Global Festa Japan 2010.” held on October 2nd and 3rd. Marking the year of due for the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), some 106,000 people has gathered at Hibiya Koen Park in Tokyo under the sunny autumn sky for a common cause.

MDGs contain eight Millennium Development Goals and detail out 18 specific development targets to achieve the goals. Habitat for Humanity is contributing to achieve one of the targets; Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020.

On the event, student volunteers at the Habitat booth asked a question to all visitors; “What does a house mean to you ? ” The booth exhibition was designed to raise awareness on the global poverty housing issue and Habitat’s efforts to overcome it as it is an essential to a decent human living. Along with the photos and panels on the walls, the visitors had plenty opportunities to hear the voices of　the student volunteers of CCs/ CClubs in person who had experienced Global Village Program (GV) .

The visitors also enjoyed writing the brick-shaped cards with their answers to the question above, to fill the walls of a model box house. Sharing words like “relaxation”, “necessity”, “rest” and so on, they formed a house of hope. (This model house will be used as a donation box at upcoming events.)

This fruitful two-day event also gave opportunities for student volunteers to meet and exchange thoughts with the fellow volunteers, young and old visitors who share a common interest in international cooperation. (Toshiyuki Sugawara, student volunteer)

=======================Proceeds at the Global Festa Japan 2010 ========================

Total of 13,200 yen was raised by sales of Habitat USB, T-shirts and Calendars.
* This proceeds will be used towards the house building projects by Habitat for Humanity.

=====================================================================================

◆Reports on the past Global Festa Japan:
≫Global Festa Japan 2009
≫Global Festa Japan 2008
≫Global Festa Japan 2007

Office Location Changed Notification

2010-09-15T15:00:00Z

Habitat APU : Malaysia GV on APU's Top Page !

2010-09-07T15:00:00Z

The Malaysia GV by Habitat APU (a Campus Chapter of Habitat Japan) team has been introduced on APU's homepage (top page) ! For 2 weeks from August 15, the team volunteered together with members of the local community of Kuching on the Malaysian island of Borneo.

Story of Habitat APU's Malaysia GV

Habitat Premium Night with Oakwood (8/19)

2010-08-22T15:00:00Z

August 19th, "Habitat Premium Night" was held at Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown. Over 60 people from 50 different companies and organizations, including Habitat supporters, had joined the event.

【Images Left & Center】The participants are enjoying one another's company
【Right】Habitat's house-shaped bank welcomes guests at the front lobby

Celebrating its 50th anniversary of foundation, this event was hosted by Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown, a company that provides apartment services in about 30 countries, as part of its social action program. Sharing the industry of housing, the company wishes to take part in Habitat's cause; they hosted a party at one of its residential building in Tokyo to start off the partnership.

At the event, the participants enjoyed the movies and slideshows from Habitat around the world, and Habitat trivia quiz for raffle prizes provided by both Habitat and Oakwood.
Some of the guests told us "Drinking wine at such a luxurious lounge but still for a good cause, I love it!", "All the guests are very experienced people from many different industries. I can't believe it's organized by an NGO, but sure a great change for me to network," and "I joined the party without knowing anything about Habitat, but I actually learnt a lot from the photos and games." It seemed that everyone got to enjoy the night off from the Tokyo's heat, with a little bit of learning about Habitat and its work.

The event raised the total of 166,000 yen (US$2,000) and the whole amount is donated to be used toward the next spring's house building program in Thailand. Habitat for Humanity Japan wishes to express gratitude for Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown and all participants for this event for their kind contributions.

≫Related article

Summer Charity Recital by Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown (8/8)

2010-08-09T15:00:00Z

On August 8th, Sparkling Summer Charity Recital was held with performances by up-and-coming musicians, Mayu Kishima (violin) and Kyoko Sasaki (piano) at Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown. Celebrating its 50th anniversary of foundation, this recital was realized as a part of social action program by Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown, a company that provides apartment services in about 30 countries. Cool and breezy sound enchanted the audience in the midst of hot summer days, whomever they are and wherever they come from.

Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown has agreed to donate Habitat Japan 35,000 yen (US$420) from sale proceeds and the whole amount will be used towards the next spring's house building program in Thailand which Habitat Japan is supporting. Habitat Japan wishes to express gratitude for Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown for their kind contributions.