Macedonia to receive 5,000 euros for videos

SKOPJE (May 29, 2007) – Three Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Macedonia families will get the chance to tell their stories on national television thanks to a 5,000 euro grant from the Success Grants Program.

The program is managed by the Macedonian Institute for Media (MIM) within the Civil Society Strengthening Project, which is implemented by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) and sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

”These video family stories will increase awareness in Macedonia that every family deserves a decent home,” said Darko Buldioski, resource development and communication coordinator, HFH Macedonia. “We hope that this project will put poverty housing on the agenda in Macedonia to help more families get out of poverty housing.”

HFH Macedonia will select the families at the end of May. Filming will begin in June. The videos will be five to seven minutes long, with a 30-second version of each story also available. The videos will be produced in Macedonian, Albanian and English and will be broadcast on private Macedonian national television station, TV A1 and two other regional stations in Macedonia in September 2007. The leading national TV station from Macedonia A1 will help with the production of the video.

HFH Macedonia was established in June 2004. In 2005, it launched a program in partnership with a local microfinance institution to establish a Home Improvement Fund. The Fund provides micro-loans to families for reconstruction and renovation of substandard housing.

HFH Macedonia will start a new partnering microfinance program in June that will target Roma families and other vulnerable groups.

About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a nondenominational Christian charity dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. It has built more than 200,000 houses; more than one million people are living in Habitat homes they helped build and own through low-cost, no-profit mortgages. We have positively affected lives in nearly 100 countries around the globe.

For more information, please contact:
Dominique Schärer, dscharer@habitat.org, +36 (1) 411-2170
Darko Buldioski, darkob@habitat.org.mk, +389 (2) 306 1890