Building Communities, One House at a Time
In November 2006, Dow India and 80 of its employees joined Habitat for Humanity in the 23rd Annual Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP), which built houses for 100 families in India. As a JCWP Gold Sponsor, Dow India funded and helped build eight homes and sponsored five more homes built in 2006 — plus pledged US$500,000 to build 60 more houses at other sites in 2007.
Great Need
India is home to more than one billion people, yet 60 percent of its estimated 180 million dwellings are temporary or in dilapidated condition. The country needs an additional 41 million homes to accommodate its current needs, and 2.5 million new homes each year to keep pace with its growing population. Many existing houses are constructed from poor quality bricks or cement. In rural areas, shelters are commonly made of mud, grass, leaves, bamboo and reeds. In urban areas, the poor live in crowded slums, on train or bus platforms or under bridges.
A Place to Call Home
During the JCWP — held in Lonavala, a community in the western part of Maharashtra, India — volunteers from around the world and the receiving families worked side by side building walls, laying roofs and fitting windows and doors. Nearly 25 percent of Dow India employees volunteered for the JCWP, demonstrating the passion and commitment of the company’s culture. Dow is working to help JCWP achieve its ambitious goal of providing shelter to 250,000 people in India by 2010 — and to make local communities throughout the world the very best they can be.
The Human Element — providing housing for the communities in which Dow does business and beyond.
Related Links:
- Habitat for Humanity
- 23rd Annual Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP)
- Dow’s history with Habitat for Humanity
- Website for STYROFOAM™ insulation
Did you know…
- Dow has been a Habitat for Humanity sponsor for over 20 years.
- Dow has provided more than $10 million in financial contributions.
- Dow supports Habitat for Humanity by sponsoring houses, donating STYROFOAM™ extruded polystyrene insulation and supplying employee/customer work crews at builds around the globe.
- Dow is celebrating 50 years in India in 2007
- India is a key growth region for Dow alongside China.
