Celebrating World Habitat Day with Borneo Blitz Build 2014

Procter & Gamble among volunteers to construct homes for low-income families in Sarawak.

Kuching, Malaysia — Procter & Gamble (P&G) Malaysia employees, along with other volunteers, built houses for low-income families at the Borneo Blitz Build 2014. The 6-day build initiative, organised and led by Habitat for Humanity Malaysia — Kuching Affiliate from 14th to 19th of September 2014, saw the construction of 14 houses on a piece of donated land at Jalan Stephen Yong, together with access to sanitation facilities and clear water supply.

The build took place before World Habitat Day on the 6th of October 2014. This day, designated by the United Nations, falls on the first Monday of October every year. Since its inception in 1985, World Habitat Day annually recognises the basic right of all humanity to adequate shelter and catalyses efforts to end poverty housing worldwide.

“P&G truly admires the endeavours by Habitat for Humanity Malaysia and its Kuching affiliate. P&G Malaysia celebrates World Habitat Day through our involvement in the Borneo Blitz Build this year. It was an impressive feat and we are extremely honoured to be a partner of Habitat for Humanity, not only locally but globally,” said P&G Communications Leader for Malaysia and Singapore, Zulhaimi Abdul Hamid who attended the build.

Procter & Gamble’s partnership with Habitat for Humanity on a global scale contributes funds for the construction, repair, and cleaning of homes in 12 countries around the world. Malaysia is one of these countries where P&G and Habitat for Humanity come together to reach out to the local communities in need of home and shelter.

This is P&G Malaysia’s second foray with Habitat for Humanity Malaysia this year through its corporate social responsibility campaign, Hulurkan Harapan or “Giving Hope”. Hulurkan Harapan aims to reach out a helping hand to those in need through donations and employee volunteerism. Last year, P&G employees repaired six houses and built one house at an Orang Asli settlement in Kampung Paya Lebar, Sungai Lui, Selangor. P&G has to date, donated RM160,000 towards both these projects.

David Kiu, president of Habitat for Humanity Malaysia – Kuching Affiliate, greatly appreciated the sight of people from all walks of life building houses together alongside the home owners — the husbands and wives of the partner families.

“Volunteers from as far and wide as the United States and New Zealand, both young and old, participated in the blitz build. It was humbling to see that people would leave their own homes behind and travel such a great distance to build homes for others. We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to all those who participated in this build. We hope that the Borneo Blitz Build 2014 has helped raise further awareness about the challenges that some families face and will encourage more people to donate to and volunteer for our programs,” said an elated Kiu.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organisation which strives to create housing that is sustainable and affordable for those living in poverty. Their objective is to eradicate poverty housing worldwide with the belief that everyone is entitled to a safe place to call home. Impoverished families are assisted in the renovation of their existing homes or the building of a new one through donations and volunteerism.

As part of the campaign, P&G partnered with Ta Kiong supermarket at The Spring, H&L and EMART, when it invited consumers to help raise further funds for Habitat for Humanity Malaysia – Kuching Affiliate via the purchase of their favourite P&G products from 20th August 2014 to 30th September 2014. For every RM10 spent on P&G products, 10sen will be donated towards Habitat for Humanity’s cause. The cheque for the proceeds will be presented later this month.

“Through Hulurkan Harapan and our products, we hope to continue to provide the comfort of a home for more low-income Malaysians. The support of consumers for our brands and subsequently our fundraising programmes means a lot to us in championing this cause,” added Zulhaimi. (PR Newswire)

Photo above: P&G volunteers transporting bricks to build walls on site