Annual Reports

Chairman’s Report – December 2008

Dear Supporters,

This report provides me with an opportunity to thank our many supporters and volunteers, who work tirelessly towards the common goal of providing safe affordable housing and associated buildings across the Asia-Pacific region.

House Bracing – A Major New Project

Partner Housing is about to undertake a major project to improve the safety of houses in areas prone to earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones. The most common form of housing in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands is elevated timber framed housing on timber posts. This offers coolness and safety. If unbraced (as is common), this form of construction is susceptible collapse due to earthquake, wind or tsunami. The stability of such houses can be quickly and economically improved by retro-fitting simple diagonal bracing and roof anchorages. Commencing with a pilot project in the Solomon Islands, Partner Housing will provide:

· Funds for the purchase and delivery of bracing sets and anchorage components;

· Funds for the employment of a local building supervisor; 

· Pro-bono design, detailing and scheduling services associated with installing and retrofitting bracing and roof anchorages;

· Training packages, on-going training and on-going mentoring of local supervisors;

Pro-bono Design Assistance – Kiribati and Solomon Islands

Partner Housing is now fully involved in coordinating pro-bono professional services for a number of projects in the Pacific. This includes bridge design in Kiribati, school design in Solomon Islands, and house reconstruction in Solomon Islands. The following list of projects provides an insight into the work undertaken since 2006.

Funding

Partner Housing clearly focuses on our mission as a volunteer-based organisation, concentrating our future activities on the provision of services. Our major role is matching volunteers with the right skills to specific projects associated with alleviating poverty housing throughout our region. Whilst our focus on deploying volunteers, we still need sufficient funds to cover overheads and to support overseas building supervision projects. For this, we rely on the generosity of our donors; and your assistance is appreciated.