Lloyd's builds new partnership with Habitat for Humanity Great Britain
Report explaining why communities choose to live in flood-prone lowland areas to be released in 2020
Lloyd’s Charities Trust has launched a new disaster resilience partnership with Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, as part of Lloyd’s ongoing response to emerging risks and the challenges they pose to communities around the world.
The partnership will encourage a Lloyd’s market wide approach to help fulfil Habitat for Humanity’s goal of a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. The partnership will focus on the joint vision to create braver and more resilient communities in climate risk areas.
Habitat for Humanity Great Britain is keen to utilise Lloyd’s and the (re)insurance sector’s expertise in natural hazard risk modelling and mapping to help them develop new tools and models. In particular, expert advice on flood risk reduction strategies will enable the most vulnerable communities to build their capacity to successfully tackle flood threats.
A key component of the new partnership is funding a project in Malawi’s Chikwawa District that was affected by severe flooding and devastation from Cyclone Idai in March 2019.
The project will analyse why certain communities choose to live in flood-prone lowland areas, and the best way to improve the resilience of these communities to future disasters. The report will help Habitat for Humanity and other disaster response organisations respond to future disasters more effectively and will be applicable to other regions that are affected by similar natural disasters.
The Malawi project will also provide access to community rescue hubs for more than 20,000 individuals; giving local families access to training sessions and materials to ‘disaster proof’ their homes. They will also function as emergency shelters for 36 families, reducing vulnerability in the region. Collaboration with local communities and authorities and capacity building is key to the success of disaster preparation and this is the heart of what we will do.
Lloyd’s Charities Trust will also be running a Build trip to Malawi for individuals working across the Lloyd’s market to share their skills and experience to support Habitat for Humanity Great Britain, utilising a range of professionals from companies across the (re)insurance sector.
Sharing risk is central to the work of the (re)insurance sector and the Lloyd’s market. This is an incredibly exciting partnership for us as the charity responsible for driving disaster resilience initiatives on behalf of the market. With a wealth of knowledge and intelligence in our market around climate related risks and mitigation to share, it is a natural fit for us to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build the resilience and coping capabilities of the most vulnerable communities.Vicky Carter, Chairman of Global Capital Solutions, International at Guy and trustee of Lloyd’s Charities Trust
This new partnership with Lloyd’s Charities Trust is an important step toward helping communities prone to natural disasters build their resilience, and help us as an organisation respond even more effectively.Tum Kazunga, CEO at Habitat for Humanity Great Britain
East African coastal communities, including, as we’ve seen in the case of Cyclone Idai, landlocked countries like Malawi, are increasingly at risk from the growing frequency of tropical cyclones. With Lloyd’s Charities Trust support, we will be able to not only rebuild but to also train these communities and help them to become more resilient to flooding. These training programmes are designed to support communities, local authorities and other stakeholders to prepare, withstand, and recover from future disasters.
About Lloyd’s
Lloyd’s is the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance marketplace. Through the collective intelligence and risk-sharing expertise of the market’s underwriters and brokers, Lloyd’s helps to create a braver world.
The Lloyd’s market provides the leadership and insight to anticipate and understand risk, and the knowledge to develop relevant, new and innovative forms of insurance for customers globally.
It offers the efficiencies of shared resources and services in a marketplace that covers and shares risks from more than 200 territories, in any industry, at any scale.
And it promises a trusted, enduring partnership built on the confidence that Lloyd’s protects what matters most: helping people, businesses and communities to recover in times of need.
Lloyd’s began with a few courageous entrepreneurs in a coffeeshop. Three centuries later, the Lloyd’s market continues that proud tradition, sharing risk in order to protect, build resilience and inspire courage everywhere.
About Lloyd’s Charities Trust
Lloyd’s Charities Trust has been supporting causes relevant to the market and our people for the last 60 years. Lloyd’s Charities Trust is a registered charity independent of Lloyd’s. For more information on our governance, accounts and finances, please visit the Charity Commission website here.
As the Lloyd’s market responds to emerging risks and the challenges that these pose to communities around the world, it becomes increasingly important that Lloyd’s Charities Trust supports projects that aim to reduce the risk of devastation to the people who need it most. Through our charity partnerships, we work with organisations who help the most vulnerable groups with disaster risk reduction globally.
Lloyd’s Charities Trust also supports causes close to the hearts of our people in the Lloyd’s market in London. Recognising the voluntary and fundraising efforts of individuals from across the market, we reward their chosen charities with unrestricted grants to help maintain stability and resilience in a changing world.
www.lloyds.com/about-lloyds/responsible-business/community/lloyds-charities-trust
About Habitat for Humanity
One in five people across the world live in slums and substandard housing, locking them into a grinding cycle of poverty. This lack of housing negatively affects their health and well-being, educational prospects, and ability to make a living.
Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a safe place to call home. We believe that a decent home helps to permanently break the cycle of poverty and allows families to achieve strength, stability, and self-reliance.
We believe decent homes are the heartbeat of strong communities and so we also fight for land rights for women, upgrade urban slums and informal settlements, improve access to water and sanitation, and help communities become more resilient in the face of natural disasters.
Working in nearly 70 countries, we support the most marginalised and vulnerable in society, and welcome people of all religions and none to partner in our life-changing work. By working hand in hand with communities since 1976, we have provided over 1 million homes and helped over 6.8 million people.
https://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/
Media Enquiries:
For Lloyd’s:
Nathan Hambrook-Skinner
Senior Media Relations Manager
Tel: +44 (0)20 7327 6125
Email: nathan.hambrook-skinner@lloyds.com
For Habitat for Humanity:
Charles Font
Senior Associate at Montieth & Company
Tel: +44 (0)20 3865 1947
Mob: +44 (0)7379 099 390
Email: cfont@montiethco.com