Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) is an international network of federations of the urban poor who share ideas and experiences, and support one another in gaining access to adequate land, infrastructure and housing. SDI brings together poor men and women from urban settlements, through national and international exchange visits, events and meetings to enable the rapid transfer of knowledge, experiences and skills directly between poor people in different countries. People living in poor communities learn to see their own situations in a new light, to share their own knowledge, and to learn from the experiences of others facing similar challenges. The lessons learnt are then adapted to the local context. You can read more about federations and what they do by clicking here.
SDI is a voluntary association of like-minded national federations of the urban poor committed to a shared process of grassroots organisation, problem solving, and solution sharing. An SDI Secretariat based in South Africa helps to co-ordinate the network's activities, but the primary focus of these activities is emphatically local. The strength of the SDI network lies in this combination of its local and global dimensions. You can read more about the SDI network by visiting their website, or by reading an article which describes how SDI was formed and how it developed.
Homeless International supports many of the federations which make up SDI, through partner organisations in Asia and Africa. You can read more about these partnerships in different countries by browsing through the links in the menu bar on the left of this screen.
