Social housing workers have donated more than £40,000 towards the reconstruction of communities devastated by the Asian tsunami, with the promise of much more to come.
The Villages of Hope Appeal this week received its biggest single donation of £15,000 and many housing organisations are finalising their pledges in the next two weeks.
Much of the money raised will go to charity Homeless International. The charity will pass it on to housing organisations the Asian Commission on Housing Rights and the Indian charity Sparc.
Many housing officers in British councils are also expected to fly to India and Sri Lanka next month to help rebuild communities. The secondment scheme was set up by the directors of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum and the Local Government International Bureau, who met mayors in Sri Lanka and the Indian state of Kerala last week.
Eighty British councils have shown interest in the programme, which will include short-term secondments and two- to three-year partnering programmes. Housing-related schemes identified include helping to replace record offices destroyed in the tsunami that held vital housing information. Rebuilding projects on original sites and new sites further inland are also planned.
Trainee housing staff in India and Sri Lanka are expected to come to the UK to train at partner councils under the exchange scheme.
Source
Housing Today
