Homeless International

Homeless International is a British NGO focusing on urban poverty issues in the developing world. It is a membership organisation registered both as a charity and a company limited by guarantee, with many members being UK housing associations.

It was initially created in 1984 as the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless Trust or IYSH Trust UK, for the 1987 International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. After the year ended, as demand for support was still present in developing countries, the Trust became an organisation named Homeless International, and started operating in 1989.

IT Works mainly by supporting community-led projects and initiatives related to slum development in 11 countries : in Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe ; in Asia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Philippines. It works in partnership with 14 organisations in these countries, most being members of either Slum Dwellers International or the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights. The support is given in the form of grants helping these organisations to accomplish their projects and to build their capacity (£1.23 million in 2007-08), and of financial services : the Guarantee Fund and the Community-Led Infrastructure Finance Facility (CLIFF).

The Guarantee Fund was established in 1994 and allows communities of slum dwellers to secure loans from banks, with Homeless International offering a guarantee. The CLIFF project is the result of a DfID-funded research entitled Bridging the Finance Gap, started in 1999, and first piloted in 2002 in India. It is a venture capital facility which allows communities to implement demonstration projects, in order to secure funding for larger-scale projects.

References

fr:Homeless International