Un Techo para mi País was presented with the United Nations’ World Habitat Day Award

The UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award is the prize presented by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) on World Habitat Day for notable contributions in the field of human settlements by individuals, organizations and successful projects. The World Habitat Awards reward innovative, sustainable and globally replicable projects carried out in human settlements. UTPMP was presented with this prize for its distinguished efforts in the construction of thousands of transitional houses for the poorest populations of Latin America.

-         The celebration and presentation of the prize took place on Monday, October 5, 2009 in the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

-         During the ceremony, at which the most renowned world authorities in Habitat and Third World topics were present, Claudio Castro, Social Director of UTPMP, was presented with the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award by Shaun Donovan, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. 

The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our cities and towns and the basic human right to adequate shelter for all; it is in this context that UTPMP was recognized.

“This prize reinforces our commitment to show the world the reality of millions of families that live in conditions of extreme poverty in Latin America, and, in turn, the accomplishments realized by thousands of youth volunteers working together with these families in the 15 countries in which we are present,” said Claudio Castro, Social Director of UTPMP.

The objective of World Habitat Day is to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the habitat of future generations and in this respect Un Techo para mi País is recognized for its unwavering commitment in its work with the marginalized populations of Latin America that live in conditions of poverty. Un Techo para mi País has constructed more than 42,000 transitional houses throughout the continent, which has allowed the most impoverished individuals to take the first step towards overcoming poverty.