The houses are in various stages of construction in Ethiopia,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and India
ETA Star, a leading property developer in the UAE, and its partners, announced today that they have helped in building homes for 4000 families in four countries, as part of their Home for the Homeless initiative. The houses are in various stages of construction in Ethiopia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India.
ETA Star and its partners, Dubai Lifestyle City, Homes r Us and Star Cement, have partnered with the Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), a not-for-profit organization, headquartered in Georgia, USA, dedicated to eliminating poverty housing, for its Homes for the Homeless initiative.
The Homes for the Homeless initiative, started in the holy month of Ramadan in 2007, aims to provide shelter for the impoverished. In the first year of the programme, ETA Star and its partners donated a percentage of their total sales raised during the Holy month of Ramadan towards the noble initiative. In 2008, the partners made a contribution of AED2 million to Habitat for Humanity International at an impressive fund raising event held in Dubai which was graced by Indian actor John Abraham, who is also the goodwill ambassador for Habitat of Humanity.
Ms. Thamina Begum, an Indian national living in Mumbai, a beneficiary of the programme, said, “Owning a two-room house was beyond our reach. It was a dream. Today, the dream is becoming a reality, thanks to the Homes for Homeless programme. It is difficult for me to state how happy we are.”
“Before this house was constructed, I had sleepless nights especially when it rained, I had to wake up in the middle of the night to clean the house and remove the stagnant water from the room so that we could sleep well. There was also the fear of fire, since the roof was only of plastic sheet. But now, I am comfortable as we now have a secure house,” said Rahima, a 32 year old mother.
Commenting on the Habitat for Humanity initiative with HFHI, Mr. Abid Junaid, Executive Director, ETA Star Properties, said, “Our partnership with HFHI is an extension of their on-going efforts to provide security, increased health and quality of life to vulnerable families made homeless either by the socio economic conditions or by natural disasters. We are very proud of our association. It give in immense pleasure to see our efforts being fruitful and thus helping at least some of the homeless realize their dream of having a roof over their heads.”
The project implementation in all the countries commenced in 2009 and is expected to be completed in November 2009.
Habitat for Humanity has built more than 250,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, decent, and affordable shelter. Through volunteer labour and donations of money and materials,
Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with affordable loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build still more Habitat houses.
Habitat is not a giveaway program. In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labour — sweat equity — into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. Some of Habitat’s
star volunteers include former US President Jimmy Carter, musician Jon Bon Jovi and actors Brad Pitt and John Abraham.
About ETA Star
ETA Star Property Developers LLC is a part of the ETA Ascon & Star Group, the USD 6 billion conglomerate. ETA Star Property Developers is developing over 50 million square feet of premium property in countries in Middle East and South East Asia, including UAE, Oman and
India. In the UAE, ETA Star's portfolio currently includes premium commercial, residential and hospitality projects. Verde Offices and Residences, The Grandeur Residences, 23 Marina, Liberty House, Goldcrest Views-2, Goldcrest Executive, The Summit are some of the prominent projects of ETA Star that are currently being developed. The first ISO certified developer in the region and voted Superbrand for two years in a row, ETA Star is among the few developers who have started delivery of projects with all others scheduled to deliver as promised.
