Show Notes
S01E03 Housing and Gender Equity: Shifting Roles and Building Inclusion in Asia-Pacific More than 1.6 billion people across Asia-Pacific live in inadequate housing, with women facing added barriers like insecure land tenure, limited access to finance, and exclusion from housing decisions. In this episode of Open the Door by Habitat for Humanity International, Elizabeth "Liz" Satow, Habitat's Area Vice President for Asia-Pacific, speaks with Anabel Ali, Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity Fiji, and Anand Bolimera, National Director of Habitat for Humanity India, on how housing systems shape gender outcomes and how to make them more inclusive. They unpack gender equality vs. gender equity, citing examples like Project Nirmanshree, Habitat India's Housing Support Services, Habitat Fiji's She Fixes It initiative, the Daulomani Safe Home, and India's Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana program, showing how women-centered housing strengthens safety, health, livelihoods, education and decision-making. Chapters 00:00 – Cold open00:47 – Welcome & introduction01:56 – Meet the guests02:35 – Guest stories: growing up with housing insecurity07:45 – How gender shapes the housing experience11:50 – Defining gender equality vs. gender equity19:35 – Gender norms and housing26:00 – Designing housing around women's needs30:05 – The data: housing, health & gender-based violence34:35 – Reasons for hope39:55 – Closing reflections & lightning round42:55 – Outro & call to action Our moderator and speakers:
Liz Satow is Habitat for Humanity's Area Vice President for Asia-Pacific, with 20+ years of humanitarian and development leadership across India, Haiti, Nepal, Jordan, and the Philippines. She holds an MA in international development and a BA in political science, and is a certified life and executive coach. Anand Bolimera is National Director of Habitat for Humanity India, with nearly three decades in humanitarian response, strategic planning, and development. He previously founded Change Alliance and led a UK FCDO Poorest Areas Civil Society Program in India. At Habitat India, he leads efforts to expand affordable housing and strengthen community resilience. Anabel Ali is Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity Fiji and a finance executive with 15+ years in financial management, governance, and strategic leadership. She is Group Financial Controller of Fiji Fish Marketing Group and has served on the boards of Fiji's Housing Authority and Public Rental Board.
Sources/References:
Biutu, I. and Naivalurua, N., 2023. "64% of women and girls in Fiji experience physical and sexual violence by their husband or intimate partner – Tabuya" in Fiji Village. https://www.fijivillage.com/news/64-of-women-and-girls-in-Fiji-experience-physical-and-sexual-violence-by-their-husband-or-intimate-partner---Tabuya-x48r5f/ Fiji Global News, 2026. "Fiji Unveils 2025–2030 Housing Policy to Expand Affordable Homes, Secure Tenure and Boost Green Development." https://fijiglobalnews.com/fiji-unveils-2025-2030-housing-policy-to-expand-affordable-homes-secure-tenure-and-boost-green-development/ Fiji Global News, 2024. "Fiji's Housing Dilemma: The Risks of Informal Settlements." https://fijiglobalnews.com/fijis-housing-dilemma-the-risks-of-informal-settlements-2/ Government of India. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana https://pmaymis.gov.in/ Habitat for Humanity Fiji. "Daulomani, the language of love." https://habitatfiji.org.fj/daulomani-the-language-of-love/ Habitat for Humanity Fiji. "Rebuilding with purpose: How plumbing skills empowered Siteri." https://habitatfiji.org.fj/rebuilding-with-purpose-how-plumbing-skills-empowered-siteri/ Habitat for Humanity Fiji. "She Fixes It - Empowering Women, Strengthening Homes." https://habitatfiji.org.fj/3193-2/ Habitat for Humanity India. Project Nirmanshree. https://habitatindia.org/nirmanshree/ Habitat for Humanity International, 2025. "Informal Settlement Improvements and Women's Health." https://www.hab
More from Open the Door
Climate Resilient Housing: Co-Designing with Community and Tackling the Funding Gap In this episode of Habitat for Humanity International’s “Open the Door,” moderator Aaron Opdyke, an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and Disaster Risk Management Specialist with the GFDRR/World Bank, is joined by Sanjeev Hada, Associate Director, Program Operations Asia-Pacific at Habitat for Humanity, and Ngoc Anh Chu Thi, “Kiu,” an architect with Think Playgrounds and a 2025 Habitat Youth Solutions winner. Together, they explore what it takes to make housing more resilient to the impacts of climate change across Asia and the Pacific. They discuss why housing remains underfunded despite its wider social and economic benefits, what “climate-resilient housing” looks like in practice, and why community participation and localized design matter. Kiu shares her experience co-designing floating homes with a vulnerable community along Hanoi’s Red River, using local materials, natural cooling techniques, and repair training. Sanjeev reflects on the challenges posed by short donor funding cycles challenges, the need for stronger evidence of impact, and the range of approaches available to communities, from retrofitting existing homes to and relocation where necessary. Chapters 00:00 Podcast Introduction02:14 Meet The Guests07:00 Floating Housing Concept07:44 Why Housing Gets Underfunded11:17 Vietnam Climate Stakes13:14 Defining Climate Resilience16:25 Red River Reality Check22:15 Rapid Response Without Funding25:23 Donor Cycles And Evidence29:27 Community Participation Tools34:27 Co-Designing with Community38:44 What does Resilient Relocation look like? 42:17 Asia Pacific Solutions46:13 What Needs To Change50:58 Lightning Round54:08 Final Takeaways And Call To Action Sources/References Habitat for Humanity, 2026. Youth Assembly Event Report. https://www.habitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/2025_Habitat_Youth_Assembly_Event_Report.pdf Habitat for Humanity, 2025. “People-centered approach in disaster response.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKZBRXxOU4g&list=PLZw2r9T-PRIL044ubh0H6VexfrGIcN0Xa&index=4 United Nations Environment Programme and Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, 2026. “Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2025-2026.” https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-status-report-buildings-and-construction-2025-2026 Vietnam Express International, 2025. “Vietnam among Asian countries most vulnerable to climate change.” https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/environment/vietnam-among-asian-countries-most-vulnerable-to-climate-change-4871590.htmlViet, A., 2024. “Climate Change Could Slash Vietnam's GDP by 14.5%, IFC Warns” in Vietnam Today. https://en.vneconomy.vn/climate-change-could-slash-vietnams-gdp-by-14-5-ifc-warns.htm About the Moderator and Speakers Aaron Opdyke is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian Engineering at the University of Sydney. He holds a role at the World Bank working on disaster risk management. His work combines data analytics with community-centered approaches to disaster and climate resilience. He has advised governments on housing policy, led disaster risk assessments from local to national scales, and developed tools that help decision-makers act under uncertainty. Chu Thi Ngoc Anh, “Kiu", serves as the Head of Innovation and Design Team at Think Playgrounds. Leveraging her background in ecological architecture and urban design, she specializes in co-design approaches to create climate-resilient housing, biodiversity-friendly public spaces, and community-driven urban innovations. Sanjeev Hada is Associate Director of the Housing Support Service Unit, Programs Department, at Habitat for Humanity International's Asia-Pacific regional office in the Philippines. With over 15 years experience across the region, he has led disaster response, risk reduction, and preparedness work through the Red Cross Movement and other humanitarian agencies. He bring
S01E02 Policy and Partnerships: Scaling Housing Solutions Across Asia-Pacific In disaster-prone, rapidly urbanizing Asia-Pacific, building alone cannot fix a broken housing system. In this episode, moderator Eliza Sthapit, national director of Habitat for Humanity Nepal, speaks with Handoko Ngadiman, national director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, and Phal Vandy, national director of Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, about the role of evidence-based policy and cross-sector partnerships in scaling housing solutions. Eliza sets the regional context and explains why housing is the foundation for health, education, safety, opportunity, and dignity. Vandy describes Cambodia's trust-based work with government, UN-Habitat, other NGOs, and the private sector to strengthen social and affordable housing policy, contributing to efforts to develop a housing law, financial inclusion strategy, and housing fund. Handoko examines barriers such as insecure land tenure and limited access to formal banking and government subsidies. He also shares the experience of Tanjung Kait, where 110 fishing families secured land titles, infrastructure, and decent homes through community facilitation, savings groups, and government support. Chapters:00:00 Introduction02:46 Meet the guests & the Asia-Pacific reality03:59 Vandy's story05:25 Handoko's story07:52 What "policy and partnership" really means11:33 Cambodia: turning trust into policy13:49 What surprises people about this work18:50 Case study: Cambodia's social housing pilot21:36 Case study: Tanjung Kait fishing village26:34 Structural challenges across Asia-Pacific28:38 Learning across borders30:39 One policy, multiplied: Indonesia's village fund35:16 Why keep investing in slow policy work39:40 Looking forward45:41 Lightning round47:00 Closing Sources/References:- World Population Review, 2026. "Natural Disaster Risk by Country 2026," https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/natural-disaster-risk-by-country- Grahadyarini, B.M.L., (2024, October 10). Kompas. “3 Million Homes Program Ready to Invite Foreign Investors,” https://www.kompas.id/artikel/en-program-3-juta-rumah-siap-undang-investor-asing- Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, 2023. “Supporting the implementation of the Cambodia government’s housing policy,” https://www.habitat.org/sites/default/files/documents/Cambodia%20brief%20on%20policy%20ask_FINAL_20231024_2.pdf- Habitat for Humanity International, 2026. "Finally, we own our land," https://www.habitat.org/ap/stories/finally-we-own-our-land- The World Bank, 2026. “Cambodia Economic Update June 2026: Navigating Shocks,” https://reliefweb.int/report/cambodia/cambodia-economic-update-june-2026-navigating-shocks About the speakers:Eliza Sthapit is national director of Habitat for Humanity Nepal and has over 20 years of development experience across Asia. She began as a youth volunteer in community development and environmental conservation, later working with WWF, DANIDA, ICCO Cooperation, and Cordaid International in business development, organizational strategy, and human resources. She holds a Master's degree in Sustainable Resource Management from the Technical University of Munich and a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from St-Xavier's College, Kathmandu. https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliza-sthapit-4051aa5/ Handoko Ngadiman, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Indonesia, holds Master's degrees from the University of Wales, Cardiff, and the Asian Institute of Management, Philippines. He has over 25 years of executive leadership across for-profit and non-profit sectors in Indonesia and Asia, including leading large national non-profits through restructuring, expansion, and leadership development. He is passionate about empowering families, mentoring young leaders, and guiding non-profits through strategic planning. https://www.linkedin.com/in/handoko-ngadiman-9497801b1/ Phal Vandy, National Director of Habitat for Humanity Cambodia, has over 20 years o
S01E01 - Housing and Health: Why Home Is the Foundation of Wellbeing
Open the Door, a podcast by Habitat for Humanity International about housing, is coming soon! In upcoming episodes, we'll explore the stories, people, and ideas shaping the future of housing in the Asia Pacific region. Open the door with us as we hear from voices across Asia and beyond confronting the housing crisis head-on. Follow and subscribe to never miss an episode.
Open the Door, a podcast by Habitat for Humanity International about housing, is coming soon! In upcoming episodes, we'll explore the stories, people, and ideas shaping the future of housing. Open the door with us as we hear from voices across Asia and beyond confronting the housing crisis head-on. Follow and subscribe to never miss an episode.