Celebrities Go Online to Support Habitat Youth BUILD 2013

John Abraham urges fans to tackle poverty housing in Asia-Pacific

Bangkok, Apr 12, 2013 – (ACN Newswire) – Bollywood actor John Abraham is using his popularity for a good cause, telling fans to support the Habitat Youth BUILD 2013 campaign and tackle poverty housing. A personal video released today is the latest in a series of endorsements by high-profile figures.

Check out John Abraham’s video for Habitat Youth BUILD: http://youtu.be/oBVzifQ4EmQ

Award-winning journalist Karen Davila and TV host Tim Yap from the Philippines are among those taking to Twitter to support the campaign: “I LOVE HABITAT! Join us! RT @HabitatPhils: Youth Build 2013! Share this video! Create a supporter page! Volunteer! fb.me/CJLpdAH1“, reached two million people.

“Together let’s help our friends in need build houses… let’s join hands to help families fulfill their dreams” was Chinese pop singer Jade Kwan’s message to her half a million fans on weibo.com, China’s largest social networking site.

Both online and offline support for Habitat Youth BUILD is growing steadily, as the campaign approaches 27 April, when 10,000 young people will collectively build, repair and rehabilitate homes, or raise funds and awareness, at 41 sites in seven Asian countries.

Kick-starting the campaign in March was an animated video and online T-shirt design competition – which received more than 57 entries, over 2,000 votes and was won by a student in Cambodia.

Lymei Sun, 18, describes the inspiration for her popular T-shirt design: “The words are like bricks and cement, needed to build up a true home – a home that will provide hope, love, courage, happiness, protection and so much more.”

The latest ambassador for Habitat Youth BUILD is Cambodian singer Ouk Sokun Kanha, who joins the ranks of renowned young Hong Kong architect Fai Au and model Kelly Fu, Big Brother winner Slater Young from the Philippines, Olympian and World Boxing Champion Mary Kom, actor and TV presenter Purab Kohli from India.

Driven by young people in China, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nepal and the Philippines, Habitat Youth BUILD raises awareness, and mobilizes funds and volunteers to tackle the poverty housing situation in Asia-Pacific.

To find out more about Habitat Youth BUILD 2013: facebook.com/HabitatYouthBuildHYB

Habitat Youth BUILD 2013 is on track to top last year’s success that involved more than one million online supporters and 5,000 people building in five countries on one day. The event raised over US$1 million and helped more than 700 low-income families.

Note to Editors: To set up interviews, receive photography or further information, please contact Heron Holloway, +65 9068 1892, hholloway@habitat.org

About Habitat Youth BUILD 2013

Habitat for Humanity Youth BUILD 2013 is a movement to raise awareness of the poverty housing situation in the Asia-Pacific region and grow support for the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. It calls for concerned young people to take action together to build homes and communities, on a Habitat build site and online through their social networks.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 600,000 families by building and improving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. An estimated 176,000 of these families are in the Asia-Pacific region, where Habitat has been active since 1983. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit habitat.org/asiapacific or follow us at facebook.com/habitat.

Contact:

Heron Holloway

Media Relations and Disaster Communications Manager, Asia-Pacific

Habitat for Humanity International - Asia-Pacific Satellite Office

Tel: +65 6744 2768 - Mobile: +65 9068 1892 - Skype: heron.holloway

hholloway@habitat.org - habitat.org/asiapacific