Many of our partner organisations and the communities they support are linked together in international networks such as Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) or the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR). By networking in this way, people can learn and share their ideas and experiences and work together in creating solutions.
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.
ACHR is a regional network of grassroots community organisations, NGOs and professionals actively involved in community-led developments in Asian cities. It has a small secretariat based in Bangkok, which helps co-ordinate regional grassroots exchange programmes, training workshops, meetings, seminars, fact-finding missions, publications, and extensive information dissemination.
Homeless International works collaboratively with these networks to raise awareness about the growing problem of urban poverty, keeping it firmly on the international development agenda, and to advocate for policy changes that will allow community-led development to be carried out on a larger scale. Sometimes we also provide direct support to projects implemented by these networks. For example Homeless International supported ACHR’s work on community-driven post-disaster reconstruction following the 2004 tsunami.
