Bollywood stars and business leaders laid bricks and tiles at London Business School today, building a symbolic house to represent the 100,000 houses that will be built in India by 2015.
The ‘Build a Home – Brick by Brick’ event marked the start of Habitat for Humanity’s IndiaBUILDS campaign in Great Britain, a new fundraising drive to support families currently living in substandard houses in India.
Mrs. Rajashree Birla, chairperson of Habitat for Humanity’s IndiaBUILDS campaign, and Director of the Aditya Birla Group, said: “50 million families in India do not have a safe roof over their heads.
IndiaBUILDS represents a quantum leap in Habitat for Humanity India’s aspirations. We want to go from having built 40,000 houses to date, to more than 100,000 by 2015. This London event is the first step in getting people’s attention to make this happen.”
Bollywood star Ranganathan ‘Maddy’ Madhavan shared the reason why he supports Habitat for Humanity and the IndiaBUILDs campaign: “When I was younger, I had these noble aspirations and believed I had the power to make a difference.
I have been lucky enough to see the world but still only felt I was half the man I wanted to be. This is why I support Habitat for Humanity. I want to be that person to make a change. The easiest way to support is by writing a cheque, but I also encourage others to volunteer and fulfill that desire to make a difference.”
‘Build a Home – Brick by Brick’ precedes the first major IndiaBUILDS fundraising event in Great Britain, to be held at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel on 18 July.
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