Annual Report 2010 of Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh

1. Annual ReportAnnual Report
July 2009July 2009 -- June 2010June 2010

2. 2
Left: Community training on
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene
and Appropriate Construction
Technology
Below: National Director Kelly
Koch at Open Build Nov 2009
Above: Staff training
on Compressed Inter-
locking Earth Block
(CIEB) technology
Right: Australian High
Commission staff
build with Habitat

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HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Table of Contents
A Snapshot of Our Year........................................................................................................ 2
Where We Work.................................................................................................................... 4
About Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh ......................................................................... 5
A Message from the National Director .............................................................................. 6
Our Partners........................................................................................................................... 7
Our Work................................................................................................................................ 8
Our Volunteers .................................................................................................................... 12
Our Families......................................................................................................................... 13
Financial Statements
Letter from the Auditor............................................................................................ 14
Statement of Financial Position............................................................................... 15
Statement of Changes in Net Assets....................................................................... 16
Statement of Functional Expenses.......................................................................... 17
Our Future Plans ................................................................................................................. 18
How You Can Help............................................................................................................. 18
Story: Shelter from the Storm ............................................................................................ 19
Volunteers from University of Galway, Ireland

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Where We Work
*An HRC or Habitat Resource Center may be a physical structure or a network of specialists offering support and resources. Centers provide expertise in areas
such as project and construction management; research on appropriate construction technology; and construction skills training. They also response to disas-
ters and provide housing microfinance expertise. An HRC may support a series of satellites.
** DR or Disaster Response project areas where Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh has worked.
*
**

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Everyone deserves a place to call
home. Habitat for Humanity
helps to turn such expectations
into reality by transforming lives
through the provision of safe,
decent and affordable homes.
A decent home opens the door to
improved health, better
performance in school, greater
economic opportunities and
increased community cohesion.
For 35 years, Habitat for
Humanity has been a catalyst for
such transformations, often
achieving great success by
working with like-minded
partners. The impact is not only
felt by families whom Habitat
helps. Entire communities are
also transformed when partners
support Habitat by providing
power, water and sanitation
facilities, schools, community
facilities and employment
opportunities.
Home to 160 million people,
Bangladesh is among the most
About Habitat for Humanity
Bangladesh
populous countries in the world.
While the country is predomi-
nantly rural, the exponential
growth in population and
urbanization puts tremendous
pressure on housing, sanitation,
health, education and infrastruc-
ture. In addition, Bangladesh
relies on a relatively narrow
range of resources and is subject
to frequent natural disasters.
In response to the pressing need
for housing, Habitat for
Humanity Bangladesh was
established in 1999 in
Mymensingh, and has since
increased its services to 13
locations around the country. It
works in mainly rural programs
i n v o l v i n g n e w h o m e
constructions, major and minor
renovations, disaster response
and mitigation, training on
water, sanitation and hygiene
practices and appropriate con-
struction technology. It currently
operates as a branch of Habitat
for Humanity International.
Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh staff at 2010 Annual Retreat
Total: 2802 families served

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FY2010 was a tremendous
year for Habitat for
Humanity Bangladesh.
Our organization had
come a long way since
the one-man venture in
Mymensingh in 1999.
Today, the more than
eighty members of our
HFH Bangladesh
family work across
nine districts of
Bangladesh in three Habitat
Resource Centers, nine satellite
offices and its national office in
the capital city of Dhaka.
In our first 10 years of operation,
HFH Bangladesh had adopted
the traditional Habitat Save &
Build program model to serve
the low-income families of Bang-
ladesh. In 2009, we conducted an
extensive survey and came to
realize that this Save & Build
model no longer suited the needs
of our families. Hence at the
beginning of FY2010, HFH Bang-
ladesh underwent a program
restructure to incorporate a more
demand-based approach in our
product designs and offerings.
Under our new model, we
provide low-income families
with housing loans and assis-
tance for not only new home
constructions, but also major
renovations and minor repairs.
This added flexibility allows us
to serve a more diverse range of
families and does not limit our
offering to the single one-room
new house option previously
seen in the Save & Build model.
A Message From The
National Director
In addition to transitioning to our
new program model, HFH Bang-
ladesh also began project-based
funding in FY2010. Our first
project was for a Community-
Based Disaster Mitigation
(CBDM) project, which piloted in
January 2010. This project
focused on mobilizing local
c o mm un i ti e s, pr o vi di n g
adequate training, and offering
affordable loans to implement
disaster-specific housing
retrofits. The success of this pilot
CBDM project saw the arrival of
further support and the project is
now being implemented in its
full scale. Other pilot projects
that began in FY2010 included
one on water, sanitation and
hygiene and another on
compressed interlocking earth
block technology.
With our activities in full swing
at the conclusion of FY2010, it
was with bittersweet regret that I
announced my resignation as
National Director after 2.5 years
to take on a regional role with
Habitat. I would like to thank all
the staff, volunteers, partners and
friends for their contribution to
HFH Bangladesh. I would also
like to extend a warm welcome to
the new National Director, Mr.
John Armstrong. I wish John all
the best and I’m sure he will
thoroughly enjoy his time at
HFH Bangladesh just as I did.
Sincerely,
Kelly Koch, National Director
HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010

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HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Our Partners
Habitat for Humanity Offices
 HFH Europe Central Asia
 HFH Canada
 HFH China
 HFH Great Britain
 HFH Ireland
 HFH Japan
 HFH Korea
Corporate
 Chevron Bangladesh
 Delta Brac Housing Ltd.
Non-Profit
 Association of Development
for Economic and Social Help
 Banglar Mela Sangstha
 Change
 Community Development
Society (CDS)
 Development of Endemic
Poor Program (DEPP)
 Jesh Foundation
 Protik Trust
 World Vision Bangladesh
Education
 American International
School Dhaka
 International School of
Dhaka
Other
 Australian High
Commission in Dhaka
 Australian Youth Ambassa-
dors for Development
 US Embassy in Dhaka
Employees of Delta Brac Housing volunteering with Habitat
Chevron presenting cheque to HFH Bangladesh

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HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Our Work
Regular Program
Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh has a range of different approaches to
providing housing solutions to low-income families. Habitat understands
that each family differs in size, circumstance and need. Habitat‟s approach
is flexible enough to offer different and adaptable solutions to all.
New House Construction - Building in Stages
HFH Bangladesh offers a low-cost „core house‟ design.
Families start by building a house with a single room, a
veranda and a latrine. Once this is built and 50% of the
non-profit loan repaid, the design allows the owners to build
a second room and another veranda if needed and if their
finances allow.
Renovations
Habitat house renovations are planned changes and
upgrades made to a sub‐standard house so a family can
have improved and adequate living space. In addition to
providing the financial loans to undertake these upgrades,
HFH Bangladesh offers technical support for a range of
major and minor renovations.
 A major renovation is recommended if a house is
in a poor condition and requires a large amount of
work to bring it to a decent, stable shape. The
work includes strengthening foundations and
concrete floors, building new walls or rendering
existing walls, fixing roofs (framing
and covering), raising plinths and
building verandas.
 When a house structure is stable, the
need may be for minor renovation.
The work might involve sealing a floor,
rendering a wall, repairing a roof,
extending a veranda, adding doors and
windows, plastering and painting,
building a sanitary latrine, installing a
rainwater-harvesting system or building
a shallow tube well for safe water.
Top right: Construction work
of a Habitat house
Middle right: Homeowner
working Inside her
Habitat home
Left : A complete
Habitat house
Right: Habitat staff
working with home
partner to plan a
manageable loan repayment schedule

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From left going down:
1. Meeting with a village disaster
manangement committee
2. Community awareness billboard
3. Celebrating Bangladesh’s
Disaster Reduction Day 31 March
2010
4. Community training on
disaster mitigation
HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Our Work
Community-Based Disaster
Mitigation Program
Habitat seeks to mitigate or reduce not only the
devastating effect of a disaster, but also to protect
families and strengthen homes against future
calamities. This mitigation work takes the form of rebuilding or renovating to higher standards
with quality materials and designs. It includes strengthening the structures of existing homes,
providing technical training, and teaching families and communities how best to prepare for
and respond to a disaster.
The Habitat Community-Based Disaster Mitigation program mobilizes local communities to
form village disaster management committees that actively prepare for and respond to
disasters. The program focuses on encouraging as many members of a local community to
participate. Habitat trainers explain and demonstrate the benefits of disaster preparedness,
appropriate construction technology for disaster resilient homes, post-disaster first aid and
water, sanitation and hygiene practices.

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HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Our Work
Compressed Interlocking Earth Block
HFH Bangladesh pioneered in-country research on compressed interlock-
ing earth block (CIEB) technology in 2009. This environmentally friendly
and innovative solution substitutes blocks made from a
mixture of mud and cement for conventional fire-baked
clay bricks. The blocks can be made at home using a
manual block-making compression machine and then
dried in the sun. When sufficient blocks are available,
construction of a home can be as short as seven days.
HFH Bangladesh has completed a comprehensive
feasibility assessment study, developed a skills training
program to promote the technology and built prototype
houses. In the coming years, Habitat intends to
introduce CIEB technology more widely across Bang-
ladesh and to promote the approach as a timesaving,
eco-friendly and cost-effective way of building homes.
Above : Making a
compressed interlocking
eath block
Left: HFH Bangladesh
staff building first
prototype house using
CIEB technology
Left: First complete CIEB
prototype house located in
HFH Bangladesh’s Dugarpur
satellite
Right: Blocks are left to dry in
the sun for 2 weeks

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HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Our Work
Water, Sanitation and Health
Diseases associated with poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) are a
major cause of mortality in Bangladesh. HFH Bangladesh studies revealed
that the benefits of using safe water and good hygiene practices were not
well communicated or accepted in many rural communities. For instance,
villagers often did not understand that good WaSH practices led to better
health for themselves and their families . Based on these findings, Habitat
designed training sessions on appropriate
WaSH practices and communicates these to
the communities. The project also included
the provision of sanitary latrines together with
rainwater harvesting systems.
Above : Sanitary
latrine with water
harvesting system
installed under
WaSH project
Left and below:
Community
training on
WaSH and ACT
Appropriate Construction Technology
Few people living in rural areas have specialised knowledge
or adequate skills to build houses. HFH Bangladesh has
developed a set of comprehensive guidelines and training
modules on different ways to build using a
variety of materials and equipment; how to
create water and sanitation facilities such
as rainwater harvesting systems; and
project management tips such as making
estimates, managing labor and time,
controlling waste and quality. Habitat
trains existing building workers as well
as community leaders and Habitat home
partners who want to learn to build and
repair their own homes in an effective
and sustainable manner.

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Our Volunteers
Habitat for Humanity is well
known for the tangible, “hands-
on” construc-
tion experi-
ence it offers
t e n s o f
thousands of
v ol un te e r s
every year
from around
the world.
The experi-
ence is
a l w a y s
rewarding and it provides
volunteers with the opportunity
to spend time with local families
who are directly benefiting from
Habitat’s work.
In FY2010, 11 local teams and 12
international “Global Village”
t e a m s
journeyed
to the
b e auti f ul
rural com-
munities of
Bangladesh
to volunteer
with Habitat
for Humanity
Bangladesh.
Local teams included students
from the American International
School Dhaka and Grace Interna-
tional School;
embassy staff
f r o m t h e
A u s t r a l i a n
High Commis-
sion and the
US Embassy in
Dhaka; and
c o r p o r a t e
volunteers fro
construction
company Delta
Brac Housing.
Amongst the international
“Global Village” volunteers,
HFH Bangladesh received five
separate teams from long-time
supporter the Shanghai Ameri-
can School; several other youth
teams from Japan, Korea,
Singapore and Saudi Arabia; a
couple of adult teams from the
the UK and the US; and a
first-time visit from the
University of Galway, Ireland
(photo middle left).
In celebration of two notable
days of observance, HFH Bangla-
desh held an “Open Build” event
in December 2009 to mark the
United Nation’s International
Volunteer Day and a “Women’s
Build” in March 2010 to celebrate
International Women’s Day
(photo bottom right). Both events
attracted enthusiastic local and
expatriate city dwellers who
travelled from Dhaka to nearby
rural satellites for a day of lifting,
laying, mixing and building.
With volunteerism being at the
forefront of Habitat’s work, HFH
Bangladesh extends its thanks to
all past, present and future
volunteers in joining us in the
fight against poverty housing.
HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010

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Our
Families
A place for livelihood
Rubina Akter, aged 28, lives with her husband and her son, her mother-in-law and her brother-in-
law‟s family, side-by-side in two Habitat homes. They share some communal areas where the
children play, meals are prepared, and garden vegetables are grown. Rubina uses a corner of her
Habitat home to sew blouses and clothes which she will later sell. Many Bangladeshi women
achieve a sense of em-
powerment when they
are able to contribute
financially to the family.
Agreements for Habitat
loans and homes are
often made with the
women of the family,
which helps to promote
the woman‟s influence
in household decision
making.
A place to care
Since the construction of their new Habitat
home in Savar, close to Bangladesh‟s
capital Dhaka, Rashida Begum and her
husband Atiar Rahman now have the space
to keep a cow. Atiar is a construction worker,
and Rashida takes care of the cow along-
side her household duties. Each day the cow
is milked, the family keeps
some of the milk for their own
needs and is able to sell
around two and half liters for
extra income. At home, their
daughter Julekha now has
the space to study after
school and their young sons
Sun and Moon now have a
safe place to play.
Above from left:
Atiar Rahman; son
Moon; Rashida
Begum; daughter
Julekha.
Above: Atiar Rahman and family cow
Above: Rubina Akter (in the pink shawl) with her family members —
mother-in-law, husband, sisters-in-law, son and nephew.
Left: Rubina’s income generating handiwork.

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Our Future Plans
HabitatforHumanityBangladesh
AnnualReport2010
Globally and locally, Habitat
aims to achieve the following in
2011:
1. By 2011, Habitat will exponen-
tially increase the number of
families served annually.
In Bangladesh, this will be
achieved by improving opera-
tional methodologies, increasing
organizational capacity to
respond to disasters, and through
working with new and existing
partnerships.
2. By 2011, Habitat will attract
new capital to the global
affordable housing market.
HFH Bangladesh aims to expand
into public and private sectors in
order to supply new capital to
the affordable housing market in
Bangladesh.
3. By 2011, Habitat will help lead
the transformation of global
systems and structures that
impact affordable housing.
In Bangladesh and around the
world, this means prioritizing
investment through research that
demonstrates sustainability on all
fronts, and mobilizing key
individuals and institutions to
implement policies and practices
that produce affordable housing.
4. By 2011, Habitat and its
partners will be diverse,
motivated and high-performing.
The final major goal of Habitat
requires the diversification of
leadership throughout the world-
wide Habitat network, and
focuses on Habitat becoming a
more spiritually and profession-
ally rewarding place to serve.
How You Can Help
In Bangladesh, home to 160 million people, the need is great. 4 out of every 10 people
live below the national poverty line, reflecting the inability to meet basic human needs
such as decent shelter. HFH Bangladesh invites to you help in the following ways:
VOLUNTEER
Join the teams of people of all ages and backgrounds who each year
bring their energy and enthusiasm to HFH Bangladesh. Our tangible,
hands-on construction experience offers the chance to be directly
involved in the building of better lives for the people of Bangladesh.
PARTNER
HFH Bangladesh offers many opportunities of partnership in our work,
our projects and our activities. International agencies, businesses,
schools and embassies partner with Habitat to make decent homes a
reality in Bangladesh.
DONATE
HFH Bangladesh accepts cash donations and gifts in-kind. To make a
donation now, please visit habitatbangladesh.org

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Shelter from the Storm
Leah Sanderson* – Mymensingh – April 2010
That night in Mymensingh, the rain fell hard. Winds
swept through at over 100 kilometers per hour. In
northern Bangladesh and parts of India, 100 people
were reported dead and 100,000 homes were
damaged or leveled.
Yet Rashida and her husband Khokon did not hear a
thing. Less than one month ago, Mason Khokon and
his three assistants finished building the family‟s new
Habitat home.
“Our old house would have been completely destroyed. We
did not know how strong the wind blew last night because of
our new cement walls,” Md. Khokon said in amazement.
Their younger daughter Suchi, aged 12, who is in class four,
likes to study while sitting on the floor. However it wasn‟t
previously comfortable sitting on the damp mud of the old
house.
Elder daughter Suki, 20, and her husband are visiting from
Dhaka for Pohela Boishak – Bangladesh New Year‟s
celebrations. It is the first time she has been to the new
home. She is surprised and delighted.
“In the old house we were always afraid, especially in the
rainy season. Rain would get through the roof… it was an
emergency to build this house,” Rashida says.
The family heard of Habitat through their cousin, also a Habitat Homeowner, and then they
were encouraged to take a loan by their neighbours. “When did you first hope for this
home?” I asked. “We never hoped! We were not able to even imagine this, until Habitat,”
they replied.
Every year on Pohela Boishakh, it is said to
storm, with this year being no exception. As
Bangladesh heads dramatically into the
rainy season, the urgency for secure,
affordable shelter for all is becoming
evermore apparent.
*Leah Sanderson was an Australian Youth Ambassador for
Development volunteer working with Habitat for Humanity
Bangladesh in FY2010

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Report designed and edited by:
Lydia Luo
Mahmudul Hasan
Published by:
Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh
February 2011
Copywright reserved for Habitat for Humanity Bangladesh.