EVERYONE deserves a safe place to live!

09 August 2018
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Habitat’s Housing and Land Access Advocacy continues with focus group meetings for the disabled, those living with HIV AIDS and the LGBTQIA communities in Trinidad and Tobago. We are working with NGOs in your community to fight discrimination in accessing public and private housing, in rental, mortgage or informal arrangments.

If you have experienced discrimination, please share your story with us!

Confidential Survey https://goo.gl/forms/u8QkdeAnUlC6JcM93

Call or WhatsApp to book a focus group meeting with your community +18687024663

Email contactus@habitat-tt.org to find out how you can do more!

Help rebuild after the 2017 Hurricanes

01 September 2017
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Over the last several days, Hurricane Irma and associated rainfall have caused unprecedented severe flooding and wind damage in several Caribbean islands, forcing emergency evacuations and damaging many homes in communities we serve.

Sadly, this is not the first time that CARICOM has faced this kind of disaster, and we as a regional community are reacting!

FAMILIES NEED YOUR HELP MORE THAN EVER NOW.

www.habitat-tt.org/donate-now is our online donation page.

Give today and your donation will be dedicated to our efforts in the affected islands. Please don’t wait — help us turn this setback into a step forward for families in need with your generous gift.

Habitat for Humanity Trinidad and Tobago has responded to natural disasters here and abroad for over 20 years, working in close partnership with families and local organizations during what is often the most difficult time in their lives.

YOUR SUPPORT TODAY will help with what will undoubtedly be a long-term recovery, and unfortunately, the emergency phase is just one of many that these families have to withstand. Stand with us and help these families through a long recovery. With your help, we will rebuild countless communities.

These families are counting on us. Please, make a generous donation today and help these families receive the decent and stable shelter they need.

Thank you for your continued support of Habitat Trinidad & Tobago and the people affected by Caribbean hurricanes.

If you wish to help with materials or professional services to support the relief and recovery efforts, please contact the National Director at 674-2031 or 742-4663 or email us at contactus@habitat-tt.org

Habitat Trinidad-Tobago shall make every effort to use funds as designated; nevertheless, under the direction of the Board of Directors, Habitat Trinidad and Tobago retains complete control over the use and distribution of donated funds in furtherance of its mission.

2017 Women Build – Kathy’s House

31 August 2017
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What a wonderful day! Dozens of women descended on Sangre Grande on October 28th to paint Kathy’s home! You can see the first photos here on our Facebook Page, but here’s a teaser…..

When WOMEN support each other INCREDIBLE THINGS happen!

The High Commissioner took a break to update Kathy and her husband Ellery on the day’s progress.

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BACKGROUND

Women Build 2017 will help our future Homeowner, Kathy, provide a safe, stable and familiar environment for her family to live independently and in security. Led by Her Excellency, Mrs. Carla Hogan Rufelds, High Commissioner of Canada to Trinidad and Tobago, prominent and influential women leaders from every sector will come together on several work days throughout the entire month of October, with the intention of handing over the keys to a finished home for Kathy. With the help of the diplomatic corps, business, government, academia, the arts and civil society, Kathy and her husband will soon move into a safe, decent and stable home. Habitat Trinidad and Tobago is encouraging women leaders to join hearts and hands to make a difference and transmit a positive message of hope and empowerment to the most vulnerable in our society. We hope that our women leaders will add their bit as we transform society through partnerships and solidarity.

Please register for the Women Build here

Please download the Habitat Trinidad-Tobago Volunteer Handbook – Women Build 2017

Southern Sales joins the Habitat Family

10 August 2018
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Southern Sales & Service Co. Ltd has joined the Habitat family! National Director Jennifer Massiah welcomed Brian Mohammed from the Lease & Rental Division to our San Juan Office, where he presented a cheque for TT$50,000 to contribute to positive change within our national community. Corporate support of this nature is critical to the sustainability of the Habitat programme.

Southern Sales understands that safe and affordable housing is the best way to break the vicious cycle of poverty in our country. An investment in Habitat is not a Band-Aid solution to poverty; it is a gateway to change that lasts for generations. Families that used to depend on social services are now savers and taxpayers and educated consumers, contributing to the economic base of their communities.

#habitatforhumanity #impact #sustainability #socialbusiness

Southern Sales & Service Co. Ltd has joined the Habitat family! National Director Jennifer Massiah welcomed Brian Mohammed from the Lease & Rental Division to our San Juan Office, where he presented a cheque for TT$50,000 to contribute to positive change within our national community.

Annual General Meeting 2018

16 July 2018
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Kathy Riley receives the keys to her new home from High Commissioner Carla Hogen-Rutfelds at Habitat’s Women Build 2017

Housing and Land Tenure Survey for Vulnerable Groups

25 April 2018
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Blue, green and red flyer promoting a survey on Housing Access and Land Tenure for PwDs, Persons living with HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQI+ communities

Housing Access and Land Tenure Survey for Vulnerable Groups

Housing Access and Land Tenure Survey for Vulnerable Groups: PLEASE SHARE WIDELY

https://goo.gl/forms/VRjbdv5tbsfdzz7W2

Habitat Trinidad and Tobago is working to foster positive social change in the lives of persons living with HIV and AIDS, persons with disabilities and persons who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender and/or Intersex (LGBTI).

* What are we doing? *

This survey is being conducted to capture a detailed picture of housing and shelter needs among disabled people, people living with HIV/AIDS and gender communities in Trinidad & Tobago. We will be using the findings to influence and develop local policies and services to eliminate obstacles to housing and land tenure access, and to increase the participation in the planning, implementation and monitoring of public policy around access to land and housing by organisations representing these groups. The results of the survey will be shared with Civil Society Organisations and public sector providers.

* What we are trying to measure in this survey? *

We want to identify some of the challenges that these vulnerable groups face in finding safe, decent and affordable places to live. In particular, we would like to identify barriers in accessing services, and any gaps in current service provision. This survey is completely anonymous, but we will be using the summarised information we collect to press for improvements in housing access. The survey contains questions about who you are, the housing you live in now and how you feel about access to housing in your area. We are asking lots of questions to get a detailed picture that looks at lots of different aspects of life for vulnerable groups in our country.

Support Dominica Volunteers!

06 March 2018
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From the last week in March, we are sending teams to work in Dominica every six weeks. To ease the strain on the local resources, we want them to be as self-sufficient as possible, and we need YOUR help!

We need canned food, travel packs of laundry detergent and hygiene kits for the men and women who will be working on hurricane recovery in Dominica. Here’s a list of items for their volunteer kits:

Canned meats and fish and can openers
Crix
Individual First Aid Kits
Ladies Feminine Care Packs
Toiletries – Toothpaste, soap, hand sanitizer, laundry detergent
Torchlights and batteries
We’ll collect at various points around the country – please contactus@habitat-tt.org to arrange!

#caribbeantogether #habitathammersback

PS: If you want to volunteer, please contactus@habitat-tt.org !

#habitattnt21 – Celebrating 21 Years Building Strength, Stability, Self-Reliance AND Shelter!

01 March 2018
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All this month, we at Habitat Trinidad and Tobago will be looking back at our work over the last 21 years. We are proud and grateful that we can are helping homeowners and their families all over the country to renovate, repair or build decent shelters within their means. From Habitat Street in Guaico to Canada Lane in Tobago, we are honoured to have had a small part to play in their lives!

We’d like to do more, and we can with your help! Please, tell us how you feel about our work and our impact in Trinidad and Tobago; share your ideas on how we can do more to support strong, stable and self-reliant families!

www.facebook.com/habitattnt

Answering the Call

Word Cloud with multi-coloured words related to shelter

21 November 2017
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The Admirals at the Helm

Management guru Peter Drucker once said, “management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things,” and this is most evident in those who selflessly answer the call to serve with no personal gain as an incentive. This is especially true in the case of the individuals that have served Habitat for Humanity® Trinidad & Tobago as Chairman of the National Board of Directors.

From the conception stage and through its embryonic period Clive Pantin assumed the role of Chairman of the National Committee from 1995 to 1997. During this period he skillfully and lovingly cleared the path by inviting the Area Director for the Latin American & Caribbean of Habitat for Humanity, Steve Mickler, to Trinidad to assess our worthiness and start the process of establishing an affiliate organization.

Habitat for Humanity® Trinidad & Tobago was registered in 1997 and there was a handover of the National Committee to a formal Board of Directors. This warranted a Chairman to be elected and Pantin handed the reins to Francis O’Neal (at left, in this photo with classmates from Fatima College Class of 1975), whose expertise lay in the fields of Information Technology and Civil Engineering. His focus was largely centred on the building of the Habitat for Humanity® brand and sowing the seeds of faith, mission and mandate. He had the challenging task of staffing the organization and institutionalizing the many policies and structure requirements.

After Habitat had been properly formalized the baton of the chairmanship was passed on to the very capable hands of Mitra Attai whose forté lay in the field of Finance and Accounting. During his tenure, the local organization solidified its position as an NGO by the strengthening of the institution through greater staff and volunteer development; affiliate development and fundraising at the affiliate level. Given his background, he actively sought financial transparency and soon enlisted the services of the accounting firm of KPMG as Habitat’s external auditors and implemented the international Sun Accounting System Software to facilitate our internal accounts. He also intently pursued the then President of the Republic, His Excellency, Arthur N. Robinson, to act as patron of Habitat for Humanity® Trinidad & Tobago. Attai also led the expansion of the building of houses and the formation of national partners. At an international level, he presided over the country’s first Youth Build, held here in Trinidad in 2000 and attended by representatives from 13 countries, including the Latin American and Caribbean region and a contingent from the USA.

Mr Attai gave way to Chanka Seeterram in late 2000, another finance specialist and the longest-serving Board member in Habitat Trinidad- Tobago’s short existence. Seeteram’s tenure was largely characterized by the drive to become self-sustaining and widen the involvement of our volunteer base to engage as much of the corporate citizens of our island as its private citizens. He typified the diligence of the organization by steadfastly promoting its mission at every opportunity and headed the World Leaders Build in 2001 in Trinidad, attended by several key figures in the political landscape of the country, as well as the management of our multinational and local businesses. He instilled an aggressive determination to improve our efficiency in our core competency of construction and expand the scope of our services to assist more individuals.

Current Chairman Derwin Howell is a respected Caribbean financier and brings to Habitat Trinidad-Tobago a passion for good governance and donor engagement. Under his leadership, We have been able to expand and deepen our relationshi^s with major donors, while increasing public interest and financial contributions from individuals and small & medium enterprises.

Coming Home, Giving Back

20 November 2017
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Wherever we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we know that “True Trinis” will be thinking of their loved ones and the neighbourhoods where we grew up back home. As you gather with your family and friends in “foreign” to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are asking you, as a family, to help other families build safe and affordable homes in T and T.If you are proud to be a Trini and wish to support our efforts, please make a contribution to our mission. We encourage you to visit our website at www.habitat-tt.org/donate-now to learn more about Habitat and make your secured online contributions. You also have the opportunity to follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/HabitatTNTor on twitter @habitatTNT.
In true Trini style, please let us spread the word and tell all your family and friends about Habitat Trinidad and Tobago. We look forward to having you join us in T&T to help build a house for a family in need.

This time of year, there is comfort in knowing that you’ll have a safe and healthy home to celebrate the holidays. Your gift today can begin to make that possible for your friends, and neighbours back home.

Donor Bill of Rights

10 November 2017
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Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.

VI. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive a prompt, truthful and forthright answer.

Shelter Report 2017

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Habitat Trinidad and Tobago is pleased to share our latest Annual Report with you. Download from here Shelter Report 2017(Final)

Building Strength, Stability, Self-Reliance and Shelter

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Habitat for Humanity® Trinidad and Tobago (Habitat Trinidad-Tobago) is a non-profit, non-governmental housing organisation, working in Trinidad and Tobago since 1997. We build and renovate safe decent and affordable homes in partnership with families whose household income is so low that they cannot qualify for commercial loans or benefit from the facilities of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) or Trinidad Mortgage Finance Company (TTMF). We also assist communities with the skills necessary to become successful homeowners. With an estimated 250,000 families living in informal and inadequate housing in Trinidad and Tobago[1], it could take up to 30 years to alleviate the current need for affordable shelter. Habitat Trinidad and Tobago actively brings government, private sector and other stakeholders together to change the legislation, systems and policies that currently make affordable housing a reality only for a privileged few.

Our vision is a world where everyone has a decent, affordable place to live. People in your community, and all over the world, partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. With our help, Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families.

All Habitat Trinidad and Tobago Homeowners agree to pay an affordable mortgage, formalized by a signed, legal loan agreement. We also provide alternative shelter solutions for potential Homeowners depending on the need and the land tenure circumstances of the families – materials-only, repairs, renovations, technical services and other micro-finance products. Construction and materials funding is raised through corporate and individual donations, and in all cases, each family pays a small amount over the course of the 3- to 30-year mortgage period.

[1]IADB and Ministry of Housing & Urban Development, Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, 2015

Habitat for Humanity International has helped more than 4 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976, and supports a variety of funding models that enable families with limited resources to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we have provided 602 shelter solutions, served more than 2500 families and thousands of individuals through housing initiatives, financial, technical and life skills training, and disaster risk reduction programmes (June 2017). You can learn more about our work here!

Habitat for Humanity® Trinidad and Tobago advocates for the most vulnerable members of our society, focussing on the impact of safe, decent, affordable shelter on building strength, stability and self-reliance in our communities. Our shelter programmes and complementary initiatives bring together volunteers, donors and technical expertise from around the world to:

Highlight the issues of housing access and the effects on vulnerable persons to the national audience.
Reflect on the cause of adequate and affordable shelter and share ideas on how we in Trinidad and Tobago can make this a topic of national action.
Help promote food security among Habitat Home Owners
Raise funds for a variety of housing solutions, including new homes, repairs and renovations or materials only projects.
Participate in construction and painting projects benefiting families throughout the country.

In addition to building and or renovating homes, we contribute to community development through individual capacity-building projects – financial literacy, construction skills training, disaster mitigation and disaster risk reduction initiatives.

We serve families whose combined monthly income does not exceed TT$8,000. Essentially, we can help persons who are not likely to qualify for loans from commercial lending institutions, whether due to advanced age or low-income levels. Our house costs are comparatively low because of our highly subsidized operations and substantial volunteer labour input. We provide non-profit loans, and our loan repayment can spread over 30 years, so the Home Owner can pay an average of TT$600 monthly on a loan of TT$150,000.

Annual General Meeting 2017

20 October 2017
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The 18th Annual General Meeting of Habitat for Humanity Trinidad and Tobago took place on October 12, 2017 at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. The following is the Chairman’s Speech, delivered by Derwin Howell.

This year Habitat for Humanity Trinidad and Tobago celebrated its twentieth anniversary and getting there was no easy feat. This journey involved five (5) chairpersons, two (2) former Presidents of this great Republic, and several other hard working and distinguished men and women leading the charge to this point in our history.

Over the years, we have accomplished a lot through the kindness of many generous donors, both individual and corporate. Our donor engagements were never merely a signed cheque or photo opportunity. Rather, we have had the distinct pleasure of donor contributions spanning cash, equipment, building materials and services ranging from professional expertise to manual labour on site. One early example was our former Patron, Sir Ellis Clarke, inviting his personal friends to share a glass of wine at his home, for the express purpose of convincing them to join him in serving the Habitat for Humanity mission.

On March 14^th, 2017, we raised the symbolic flag of twenty (20) years of service, with many accomplishments under our belt, including the achievement of our 500^th housing solution. We celebrated the incorporation of Tobago into our mission and are proud to say that we are currently serving our 17^th Tobagonian family with direct housing support services. As well, 120 persons have accessed our training and we have recently assisted the Moriah Village Council in the refurbishment of its community centre.

At this our 18^th Annual General Meeting in our 20^th year of operation, we now herald an even great opportunity for persons to become members of Habitat for Humanity through a membership drive soon to be launched. This will extend the opportunity to the wider public to join heart and minds to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness in Trinidad and Tobago.

We implore you to spread the word on the work that we are doing, brick by brick, house by house, community by community and partner by partner, to provide the opportunity of hope where people are living in hopelessness. Help us to promote the cause of defending the defenceless and homeless. Support us to ensure our societies in this twin-island republic reduce crime by ensuring more decent neighbourhoods, working and dwelling in harmony and helping each other, as we have done over the last twenty (20) years.

As we begin our next twenty (20) years, we must heighten our advocacy for national policies to secure land and housing opportunities for the less fortunate. Not by giving away but by instilling that through hard work (sweat equity) and repayment of an interest-free mortgage, the opportunity of home ownership is possible.

It took us twenty (20) years of fund- and friend-raising to meet the 500^th housing solution mark, but it is our desire to build a legacy where the next twenty (20) years sees 5,000 plus persons being served with access to shelter opportunities. Our soon to be launched membership drive is designed to expand our reach and impact to help us achieve this goal.

Ladies and gentlemen, as the current serving board, we stand in solidarity with you in this worthy cause. Ours remain the task to ensure good governance and accountability, to increase our shelter solutions and, despite the prevailing economic situation, to ensure that we remain sustainable and resilient. God is on our side and so are you. It gives me the greatest pleasure on behalf of the Board of Directors, the Management and Staff and all the beneficiaries of our services, to express our gratitude for your support over the years and to salute you for your partnership.

Thank You!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” …Margaret Mead

The Board of Directors: br, l-r Geoffrey Abdulah, Prem Persad Maharaj, Derwin Howell (Chairman), Winston Siriram, Stephan Sheppard. fr, l-r Barbara Lodge-Johnson, Nichola Armstrong, Jennifer Massiah (National Director), Trudie Telseford-Pierre, Karen Johnstone.