In the world, there are 1.6 billion people who do not have a decent place to live - half of them are here in the Asia Pacific area. Living in poverty housing takes away safety, good night's rest, health and quality of life. While decline in the number of children is considered a serious issue in Japan, dramatic increase of population and increase of substandard housing are serious problems worldwide.
Represented by the slogan "Play, Act, Share", Habitat Youth BUILD (HYB) is a campaign that addresses issues of poverty housing using the power and momentum of youths. 5 December 2014 saw the kick-off of the fourh annual HYB. In the Asia-Pacific region, young people, the main actors of this campaign, are spreading awareness of poverty housing by building houses, cleaning neighborhood, fundraising, hosting workshops and conference among other things.
The campaign that started in one corner of the world is now spreading across the Pacific. The HYB 2015 takes place simultaneously in fifteen Asian countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam) - the record number of participants. Habitat offices in Latin America are taking part in this campaign for the first time, making it the first HYB to be celebrated outside the Asia-Pacific region. During the three-month campaign, which concludes on 21 March 2015, it is estimated that more than one million young people will have taken place in this campaign.
Currently, there are 33 Campus Chapters in Japan, and more than 400 students among their members will be taking part in Global Village Program during the HYB 2015. They will be communicating with local students and building houses to contribute to the global movement.
Please follow HFH Japan HYB account on Facebook for all the HYB updates.