Nehemiah Award

HFH Nehemiah Award Winner 2008 for distinguished volunteer service
Mr. Curtis Hendricks
HFH Advisor, American International School/Dhaka

Congratulations Mr. Curtis Hendricks.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of Mr. Curtis Hendricks, who spent the last four years spreading the word of HFHI Bangladesh. He has brought Habitat's name to the forefront.

Mr. Curtis's enthusiasm for the ministry of Habitat is exemplary. In the 2007-2008 school year, he has organized, coordinated and supervised over 50 students on Habitat builds. Over the course of the year, he initiated fund-raising campaigns that successfully exceeded targets and raised over USD $ 7,890 for HFHI Bangladesh.

This was the largest amount ever received from a youth program in Bangladesh ad represented 10% of the funds HFHI Bangladesh raised locally in fiscal year 2008. The fund were significant in jumpstarting the preparation and groundwork for the second phase of the Cyclone Sidr Rehabilitation Project (CSRP) in Patuakhali, where Habitat is engaged in constructing 480 transitional shelters for the cyclone affected people.

To donate to the CSRP sanitation project for providing families with a hygienic toilet write to the Resource Development Manager Click here!

Global Village Team in Bangladesh!

Habitat Bangladesh is hosting its first GV team for the 2008/9 building year!

16 students and 2 teachers from the Shanghai American School are currently building homes for a small community in Bangladesh, from 27 September to 5 October. The team comes to Bangladesh as part of the Global Village program. They are working in Mymensingh to build three homes in Roghurampur village, under Shombhuganj police station. The team will have the opportunity to enjoy the EID festivities in the town, visit the Garo tribal community for a unique cross-cultural experience, visit a local school and a museum.

The Shanghai American School sends many teams to developing countries as part of the Global Village program of HFHI to build homes for the people in need. Habitat Bangladesh is one of the few programs that has continuously received teams from the school over the last few years.

Photos from the team's experiences will be posted soon!

If you are interested in volunteering at Habitat Bangladesh, please contact Sanjay, our Volunteer Programs Manager at sanjay@habitatbangladesh.org

International Day of Prayer 2008

Habitat for Humanity International –Bangladesh (HFHIB) organized a prayer meeting for Christian pastors at the YWCA Conference Hall, Dhaka on 17th September 2008. Thirty-seven pastors and leaders from different Christian denominations and organizations gathered for the prayer.

As Master of Ceremonies, the Volunteer Programs Manager, Mr. Prince Sanjay Saha welcomed all of the participants. The work of HFHIB was then presented to the audience by the Public Relations and Resource Development Manager, Emelda Mullick.

In her presentation on Habitat Bangladesh, she highlighted how HFHIB is working in Bangladesh in its regular ‘Save and Build’ Program, Disaster Response Program, Volunteer Programs and Church Relations Program. She also explained about the plans of Habitat Bangladesh for the 2009 fiscal year.


The National Director, Ms. Kelly Koch welcomed everyone in the room. She especially thanked everyone for choosing to spend their time with Habitat Bangladesh, to pray for people living in substandard housing in Bangladesh. She explained HFHIB’s mission as an Ecumenical housing ministry and the partnership and role that churches can play in the organization.

Rev. Sourave Folia from the Church of Bangladesh conducted the prayer and Pastor Robinson Mondol from the Seventh Day Adventist Church of Bangladesh delivered the sermon. He spoke about the parable of Zacchaeus from the gospel of Luke. As Jesus went and mingled with people from all walks of life, so can the leaders of Christian communities of Bangladesh go out of their circle to reach the poor and show the love of Christ through their work. Rev. Mondol encouraged everyone to come forward and take a step to help the poor.


After the sermon, the Chairman of the Board for Habitat Bangladesh, Mr. Peter Halder thanked everyone for considering HFHIB’s request to attend the prayer and also for their time with Habitat Bangladesh.

The prayer meeting finished with a prayer for people who continue to live in substandard housing and the desire that Habitat Bangladesh will be able to help these people.



Congregations in over 280 churches prayed for homeless people and HFHI at the International Day of Prayer on September 21, 2008. The National Council of Churches in Bangladesh (NCCB) delivered the prayer call of HFHI to its member churches. The Seventh Day Adventists (SDA), The Church of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship (BBF) centrally circulated the message of prayer at the HFHI’s International Day of Prayer to all its member churches. Mr. Subodh Adhikary (General Secretary of the NCCB, Rev. Sourov Folia (Pastorate Superintendent and Principal of St. Andrews Theological College) and Rev. Leor P. Sarkar (General Secretary of BBF), Pastor Dulal Mitra (Dhaka district Pastor of SDA) lead to deliver the message and prayer call to their respective churches. All of these denominations have over 100 houses of worship and churches in the country.

Farewell to Pierre Johannessen

Pierre Soheil Johannessen walks into the conference room of Habitat Bangladesh dressed in a Big Bangs t-shirt - the community-based basketball charity that two Frenchmen, a Bangladeshi and himself founded. He is here to discuss the last 12 months he as spent in Dhaka, Bangladesh as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) working in the National Office of Habitat for Humanity International Bangladesh (HFHIB).

Pierre had no preconceived ideas on Bangladesh before arriving in September 2007. He reflects that he was "not in the mind-frame" for coming to Bangladesh, and, frankly, does not look in the mind-frame to be leaving. the work completed, the experiences had, and most importantly, the relationships made, are hard to leave behind.

Arriving in the country two months before Cyclone Sidr struck southern Bangladesh, Pierre also witnessed HFHIB commencing its first Disaster Response project in Bhuapur Tagail which built 122 transitional shelters for families who lost their homes in the September 2007 floods.

Thousands of families lost their homes in the destruction of Cyclone Sidr in southern Bangladesh, and Pierre was thrown into the deep end and was fortunate enough to join the disaster assessment team in Patuakhali. The trip brought about a swell of emotions for the young Australian. The vast destruction and desperation in the faces of people play over in his head as a constant reminder that his work as a Resource Development Associate at Habitat "concerns families, not just dollars and cents." He comments that he is impressed at what Habitat has done and continues to do in Patuakhali. "We have not abandoned the community. We are still there. We are rebuilding the houses." While mentioning his experience on the assessment trip Pierre said, "I took lots of photos and one of the

most appealing photos that I have taken is the photo that is featured in the Habitat Bangladesh 2008 calendar. This image will remain in my heart for years to come."

Pierre has had a significant impact on the Resource Development and Public Relations Department of HFHIB. Introducing accountability, new internal and external communication methods, policies and procedures, improved efficiency, and marketing techniques, were just a few outcomes achieved by Pierre.

Where Pierre differs from other AYADs, work is only one facet that makes up his experience in Bangladesh. Basketball, a lifetime passion, could not be put aside while in Bangladesh. From coaching school teams, to meeting other 'ballers', Pierre began to spend most of his time after office hours on a basketball court somewhere in Dhaka. It was on one of these courts that the Big Bangs was born. An organization that has run tournaments, entered and sponsored competitions, organized skills training workshops, run basketball camps at orphanages in and around Dhaka, and, handed out food packages and played ball with street kids in Old Dhaka.

Pierre has enjoyed his time in Bangladesh, contributing significantly to Habitat Bangladesh, playing basketball and eating Shingaras (a typical Bangladeshi snack). He came with no conceived ideas on Bangladesh and leaves with what he calls a "priceless experience". Pierre articulates his experience at HFHIB as "awesome", his favorite word. Travelling from Dhaka to Tangail, to Mirzaganj to Savar, Pierre has met with and interviewed families, taken pictures, and written stories and articles about Habitat. He emphasises that these were the most enjoyable parts of his assignment.

Despite Pierre commenting that he has experienced more personal development rather than career development, his contribution has had a positive effect on HFHIB and has encouraged the organization to raise its profile in Bangladesh and increase its confidence in engaging future international volunteers to its programs.

Pierre's final words to future volunteers - "be part of the community". A statement that certainly rings true for this Australian.

Thanks a million to Pierre!

With his talent, dedication and hard work Pierre assisted PR & RD team to stay on track and meet its goal. His willingness and creativity is much appreciated.

Pierre Soheil Johannessen was the first Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) for HFHIB. We were blessed to have such an extraordinary talent in our team. Pierre left Bangladesh on 18th September 2008. We miss him and wish him all the best. Good luck Pierre!

Soheil and his new home

It’s been some time since I last saw little Soheil, basket in hand, carrying sand from the pile to the building site. At only 6, Soheil seemed to take the task of building his new home very seriously, offering only the rarest of smiles when one of my antics finally amused him.

In the 4 months since, Soheil and his family’s home has been completed. It’s a simple home, 2 rooms squeezed in between 2 other homes in, Degaon, a small village, some 30kms from the Bangladesh capital Dhaka.Even in such a small village, there is little space to move; in a country of 140 million, your home may be the only privacy you can have; in a country of such extreme poverty, your home may be your only real possession.

Soheil is excited to show me his new home. He still has the same serious face, but is obviously proud of his surroundings. He jumps up and down on the family bed, he points out the fan and the walls, the new windows and the cement floors.

To a western eye, the house is hardly the ideal new home; the bricks are uncovered to the outside elements, mortar seems brittle compared to what we are used to, and the moss growing along one side of the wall belies the home’s real age.

Yet it’s a far cry from the tin shack his family had been living in before. Soheil’s father, Mohammad, says before the partnership with Habitat, they had no choice but to live the way there were, himself, his wife, his son and 1 year old daughter, and his mother in a shack barely half the size of 1 room of their new home; “I needed a better environment for my children”.

While striving to provide families with new dwellings, the extent of poverty in Bangladesh equates to using the bare minimum of consumables. Painting one’s house is a luxury few can contemplate, let alone afford. Despite these obstacles, Habitat Bangladesh still adheres to a strict code of quality; though cosmetically the home is vastly different to traditional homes in the west, it is a safe, durable, affordable place of peace.

The family had heard of Habitat’s work through others in the village, and approached Habitat staff to see if he could apply for the program. A cook by trade, Mohammad knew his family could no longer afford to live in such a poor environment. I ask him if as a Muslim family they felt any apprehension about working with a Christian organization. He smiles and replies confidently that he had no concerns at all, citing the Hindu and Buddhist families Habitat has worked with in this very village. Indeed, the construction of the home itself showed how much families from different faiths and backgrounds were happy and eager to join together to help build each others homes.

Habitat’s use of international volunteers also surprised Mohammed and his family. “I never imagined this (foreign volunteers helping) could happen!” says Mohammed. His mother was particularly impressed with the female volunteers from the International School Dhaka who gave a week of their time to help build the home; “I felt very happy when I saw the girls working.”

Soheil can’t stop posing for pictures. He is smiling a lot more now, eager to show off every brick of his new home. Compared to what he used to live in, this home is a veritable palace, safe from the elements, clean, above the water level, and most of all, full of space.

As I prepare to leave the family, Mohammed shakes my hand eagerly, warmly. Being here it’s easy to see how much a home means to a family. “I never expected anything like this”, says Mohammed, saying goodbye with his daughter Shamin held in his arms, as Soheil, now beaming, head held high, waving as I walk away, promising to return.

- Story and Pictures, Pierre Johannessen

Homeowner Story: Alim Uddin

Homeowner Story: Alim Uddin, Modhupur.

Alim Uddin is 27 years old, married and has a 3 year old daughter. He is a homeowner from the Modhupur area.

In an interview Alim said he grew up with his 3 younger brothers, and his mother, they lived in the Pirozpur district in very poor conditions. It was difficult for Alim to earn money for the family, as he left school in grade 8. Alim decided to leave home and move to the Dokhala area, near Modhupur, in search for work.

Not long after arriving in Dokhala, he met with his uncle, Harun. After some discussion, his uncle offered to teach him the trade of tailoring, and motivated Alim to commence working with him. Alim excelled in tailoring and worked for 7 years with his uncle.

Alim then moved to the Pachis Mile area to start a tailoring business with his small amount of savings. In the beginning, he was traveling daily to his business from his home in Pirojpur.

This was a difficult way to for him to run the business, but at this time, he had no other option. Soon after, he married a woman from Modhupur.

A few years passed, and Alim decided to buy a piece of land closer to his business where he could build a house. Alim shared the idea to his mother in law, who in turn gave 5 decimal of land to her daughter and Alim.

The next step Alim faced was building a home on the land. While thinking about how he could afford building materials, Alim. heard of HFHI-Bangladesh who offer support by providing loans to homeowners. On hearing this, Alim went to the HFHI-Bangladesh office.

With the support of HFHI-Bangladesh, Alim built a two room house, costing BDT65,000. He never could have imagined that this would happen He stated to the Habitat staff - “How this beautiful house build with this low cost.”

Alim is now in full swing with his business and has enough time to earn money for his family. Currently, he has two staff members working for him. His wife is also helping him with tailoring. Alim’s total net income is currently BDT 7,000-8.000 per month.

Alim wishes to get another loan from HFHI-Bangladesh for an extension and a toilet. He is very grateful to HFHI-Bangladesh and the staff who helped him build his house.

You can help families like Alim's own their own home - Contact our Resource Development team to DONATE or VOLUNTEER now!