Sydneysiders Get Sense of Slums
2 October 2013 at 4:50 pm
Inner city Sydney was transformed into an urban slum as part of a Habitat for Humanity campaign to raise awareness of the one billion people around the world living in inadequate housing.
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| Habitat for Humanity's slum installation at Martin Place, Sydney. Photo: Geoff Jaeger, Founder, GKJ Enterprises |
The slums, built at Martin Place for UN Habitat Day on October 7, also called for people to sign a Habitat for Humanity petition asking the Federal Government to better target urban slums in its foreign aid budget.
Habitat for Humanity Spokesperson, Sophie Cooke, compared the Sydney installation to slums she had seen in the field.
“Urban slums are cramped, dark and unsanitary and Habitat for Humanity has really brought that sense to Sydney today with our urban slum installation,” Cooke said.
“Slums are often dangerous places to live, which is why Habitat for Humanity works tirelessly to provide housing in sustainable communities across the globe – from Junee to Jakarta.”
Already, hundreds of people have signed the petition.
“It is great to see Australians showing their support today by signing our petition calling for more aid targeted at shelter – especially given the number of people in need of adequate housing is expected to double to nearly two billion in the next two decades,” Cooke said.
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| Photo: Geoff Jaeger, Founder, GKJ Enterprises |
Habitat for Humanity is calling on the Australian government: to support a standalone post-Millennium Development Goal acknowledging the urbanisation trend and the subsequent impact of slum prevalence; and to recognise the importance of housing by allocating increased funding targeted at addressing the growing levels of global housing insecurity.
Habitat for Humanity Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that mobilises people to provide better housing in communities across the Asia-Pacific region.
View the petition here.
