A decent home is a fundamental right for every individual to have a safe, comfortable, and adequate place to live. However, for millions of families in Indonesia, especially those with low incomes, achieving this condition can be a difficult dream to fulfill. Without decent homes, daily life becomes full of challenges, especially when facing inadequate kitchen conditions, as experienced by Nunung and her family.

“Before, my kitchen was like a shack, the walls were cracked, leaking everywhere, and almost collapsing,” said Nunung (51), a resident of Kadumanggu Village, Babakan Madang District, Bogor Regency.

It wasn’t easy for Nunung to improve her inadequate kitchen condition. Due to financial constraints, she could only hope for the kindness of donors to help her family. Living as a widow with two children made her struggle to meet daily needs. Even her second child had to quit school because of the situation.

Nunung’s health problems further complicated her situation. She could only rely on irregular income from her eldest child and assistance from neighbors. However, Nunung never lost hope. The dream of having a decent kitchen had haunted her mind for the past 10 years, when her late husband was still alive. Back then, they could cook and sell “cilok” together to supplement her husband’s income as a casual laborer.

Hearing Nunung’s story, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, together with donors and volunteers, came to provide support in rebuilding Nunung’s kitchen and toilet.

“Now I have a new kitchen that is safe and comfortable,” said Nunung with a happy smile. “I want to gather capital to start selling ‘cilok’ again with this new kitchen, so that my second child can go back to school.”

At the age of 27, Habitat Indonesia feels happy to be able to help Nunung and more than 200,000 other families. We won’t stop here and will continue with the same vision of providing support to low-income families to achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance through decent homes.

Marking the achievement of the Open Defecation Free (ODF) program, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia collaborated with Herbalife Indonesia to hold the ODF Declaration in Kedung Dalem Village, Mauk District, Tangerang Regency on May 7, 2024.

The declaration was delivered directly by the Head of Kedung Dalem Village, Mr. Suryadi, in the presence of the Mauk District Head, Mr. Khalid Mawardi, the Director of Public Affairs of Herbalife Indonesia, Mr. Arif Mustolih, the National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, Mr. Susanto, and families who have received support from Herbalife.

This event also demonstrates the tangible achievements of the collaborative efforts between Habitat Indonesia and Herbalife Indonesia since 2019, where the program has constructed 105 new toilet units, 5 public toilet units, 1 clean water facility, and repaired 1 Posyandu unit. Not only construction, but the program also facilitated WASH (Water, Sanitation & Hygiene) Training, Posyandu Cadre Capacity Strengthening Training, and facilitated the Nutrition Intake Program as an effort to prevent stunting.

“The presence of Herbalife in this village is a manifestation of our founder’s vision to create a healthy and clean environment. This is our commitment to ensure that every individual has fair and adequate access to basic sanitation,” said Arif Mustolih, Director of Public Affairs of Herbalife Indonesia.

Habitat Indonesia expresses deep appreciation to the Herbalife Family Foundation for its outstanding support in realizing a cleaner, healthier, and sustainable environment. This support is a concrete step in creating meaningful change in people’s lives.

“On behalf of Habitat Indonesia, I would like to thank Herbalife for its significant contribution in reducing the rate of open defecation practices in Indonesia. Currently, more than 100 families in this village live without open defecation,” said Susanto, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia.

One of the partner families assisted by Herbalife and Habitat expressed deep gratitude for the changes that have occurred in their lives. “For decades, only now do I have a toilet. Now I am grateful, my children and my family no longer defecate in the fields; now we are cleaner and healthier,” said Asiah happily.

With the achievements that have been attained, it is hoped that it can accelerate steps towards Indonesia being free from open defecation practices, where data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2023 still shows a percentage of 4.2% of the total population of Indonesia still practicing open defecation.

A total of 83 Japanese volunteers, divided into six teams, collaborated to build decent homes for low-income communities in the Kali Agung Village, Kapanewon Sentolo District, Kulon Progo Regency, Yogyakarta Special Region, from February 6th to March 13th, 2024.

Together, they constructed seven decent homes, starting from the foundation stage to wall construction. This project was part of the Global Village (GV) initiative, a program by Habitat for Humanity that enables volunteers from various countries to directly participate in building decent homes for those in need.

In addition to physical construction, this GV project also involved discussions between volunteers and PASSA (Participatory Approach for Safe Shelter Awareness) groups about disaster knowledge in their respective countries.

Through this program, the local community learned about how Japanese communities face and manage disaster risks. Meanwhile, for the Japanese volunteers, they learned how local communities build decent homes.

One volunteer, Miyu, shared her experience, “This is my first experience doing construction work, especially outside my country,” she said. “This experience is very valuable for me as a young person. I learned a lot and realized that a safe and comfortable home has become a basic need for everyone. I hope that the sweat and hard work of me and my friends can bring positive changes for the families we assist tomorrow.”

It is hoped that this activity can provide new perspectives for volunteers on sharing and directly engaging in building hope for communities to live in decent homes.

Habitat for Humanity Indonesia collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of the Federal Republic of Germany to conduct SKK (Work Competency Certification) and K3 (Occupational Safety and Health) training in Tangerang, Banten, in March 2024. This program trained and certified 240 construction workers to improve economic opportunities and the quality of life for low-income families in the Banten Province.

According to 2018 data from BPS, out of 8.3 million construction workers, only 7.4% are certified. “The number of certified construction workers in Indonesia is still low. This training supports the government in producing skilled and better-trained workers, and is expected to increase their income,” said Susanto, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia.

The 10-day training program adheres to the Indonesian National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI) in the Construction Sector and has previously trained 210 workers out of the 600 workers planned to be trained by 2025.

Habitat Indonesia expresses its gratitude to PT Mowilex Indonesia, PT Wavin Indonesia, PT Tata Metal Lestari & PT Tatalogam Lestari, PT Mortar Utama (Saint-Gobain), and PT Etex Building Performance Indonesia for their support in providing trainers and financial and material assistance for this training.

This partnership is tangible proof of cross-sector collaboration in enhancing the skills and quality of life of the community and helping low-income workers achieve financial independence.

On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, Habitat for Humanity Indonesia celebrated its 27th anniversary, providing support to 200,206 low-income families across Indonesia.

Through various programs covering essential aspects of daily life, such as decent homes, access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), disaster response programs, economic empowerment programs, education facilities programs, and partnership programs to improve access to suitable housing, Habitat Indonesia has become a foundation and force in building Indonesia.

Among these programs, no fewer than 38,869 decent homes have been built, providing suitable living spaces for thousands of low-income families. Additionally, 27,009 families have gained access to clean water and sanitation, while another 61,183 families have received renovation funding since 1997, when Habitat Indonesia was first established.

As a sincere gesture of appreciation, Habitat Indonesia would like to extend its highest gratitude to donors, volunteers, and all parties who have provided invaluable support in realizing our vision that every individual deserves a decent home.

“These achievements would not have been possible without the involvement of many parties, from our donors, volunteers, to the support of various parties from both government institutions and other private sectors,” said Susanto, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia.

With an unwavering spirit, Habitat Indonesia is committed to advancing with the same vision and mission. We believe that through our flagship programs, we can actively contribute to national welfare. “We will continue to move forward with the same vision to achieve national welfare through Habitat Indonesia’s programs and services,” added Susanto.

Habitat Indonesia will also continue to commit to being alongside millions of families across Indonesia, providing them with the opportunity to have decent homes, which are the basic needs of every family. With strong commitment and support from Habitat Friends, we are ready to embark on this long journey, building a better future for the Indonesian nation.