Run4Home boosts Habitat's housing for public servants program

Manila, Philippines - Habitat for Humanity Philippines (HFHP) is home to one of the largest Habitat for Humanity International programs in the Asia-Pacific region. It has built over 32,700 homes, constructed 720 classrooms, served over 170 communities, and completed 40 community centers since it was established in 1988.

Habitat partners with various organizations to give life to its vision of creating a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Since 2009, it has been a beneficiary of Globe Run4Home, the annual charity fun run organized by Globe Telecom. Both share a common vision of transforming lives through the building of responsible and sustainable communities for the less privileged.

With the overwhelming support of R4H runners, Habitat was able to generate funds for its Housing for Public Servants program, a priority program that falls under its “I Build” campaign, chaired by Fernando Zobel de Ayala. “I Build” is a four-year initiative of HFHP that will celebrate 25 years of providing decent shelter for families in need.

Habitat is partnering with national government agencies and local government units in the development and implementation of its Housing for Public Servants program. It is working with the Department of Education (DepEd) in its initiative of building homes and communities for public school teachers.

“Public school teachers have dedicated so much of their time and resources to educate the Filipino youth. But many of these teachers are in need of help themselves. We believe in fully harnessing the capacities of individuals and communities, and that’s why our programs are anchored on the fundamental belief that the people who benefit from Habitat for Humanity – the school teachers, for instance – are not actually beneficiaries, but partners who will contribute towards helping others overcome their momentary challenges,” said Ricky Jacinto, managing director of HFHP.

Added Ernest Cu, president and CEO of Globe Telecom, “We are thrilled to be able to help fund Habitat for Humanity’s project of building homes for public servants. By choosing the housing ministry as one of our beneficiaries, Globe hopes to continue to demonstrate its commitment to education and community involvement, both of which represent the core of our corporate citizenship efforts.” The organization hopes that more groups and individuals will be involved in its campaign of building holistic, transformational and sustainable solutions to uplift the lives of Filipino families.

Teachers who will qualify for this program will be required to invest hours of “sweat equity” into the construction of homes, pay affordable monthly repayments to contribute to Habitat’s effort of building houses for others in need, and attend seminars on values formation and other community-building activities. This way, Habitat is able to promote dignity in home ownership and foster positive relationships among members of a community.