June 5, 2017
June 5, 2017
Clinton Global Initiative and Build Change hosted an event in New York City detailing our advancements in post-disaster reconstruction using mobile apps and drone technology.
Read moreMay 9, 2017
May 9, 2017
Surakshit Ghar was officially launched by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) during a press conference in Kathmandu, Nepal. Surakshit Ghar (“Safe House” in Nepali) is a mobile application developed by Build Change for the NRA to provide remote technical assistance and safe construction awareness to Nepali homeowners engaged in the reconstruction effort….
Read moreMay 8, 2017
May 8, 2017
The Simpson Strong-Tie Fellowship for Engineering Excellence was announced, and call for applications for the 2017-2018 fellowship began. The Fellowship program is the result of a recent partnership between international nonprofit social enterprise Build Change and global structural solutions leader Simpson-Strong Tie. Complementing the Simpson Strong-Tie goal to find solutions for structures to make them safer and stronger, the fellowship will allow innovative engineers the opportunity to provide impactful contributions to…
Read moreApril 4, 2017
April 4, 2017
Build Change was selected as one of the Social Design Circle honorees by Curry Stone Design Prize. In conjunction with this honor, Elizabeth Hausler was featured on the Social Design Insights podcast.
Read moreMarch 27, 2017
March 27, 2017
Build Change was named a winner of the 2017 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship by The Skoll Foundation. The Skoll Foundation presents the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship each year to a select group of social entrepreneurs whose innovations have already had significant, proven impact on some of the world’s most pressing problems, and invests directly in the promise of even greater impact at scale.
Read moreMarch 24, 2017
March 24, 2017
Our 2016 Annual Report is published. This year’s report was dedicated to the power of partnerships as a means to develop lasting change for communities.
Read moreMarch, 2017
March 22, 2017
Build Change was engaged by the World Bank to provide expert advice on home retrofitting alternatives to mitigate disaster risk in Guatemala City. This job is part of the World Bank “Resilient Retrofit of Informal Houses” project, focused on exploring marked based and subsidy approaches to retrofit existing informal houses, defining strategies that can be used to improve their structural performance in order to reduce risks of life and economical losses due to collapse in probable earthquakes in the region.
Read moreMarch 6-13, 2017
March 13, 2017
Our partners at RMS sent a team of their staff to visit our program in Nepal and had the opportunity to meet with our teams and local partners. Hear about their experiences in their own words in their blog entries on our blog.
Read moreMarch 7-10, 2017
March 7, 2017
Our Director of Engineering, Lizzie Blaisdell Collins was the recipient of the 2016 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute’s (EERI) Shah Family Innovation Prize. This prize honors young professionals within the field of earthquake risk reduction for their creativity and innovation. The prize was presented at the EERI 69th Annual Meeting in Portland, OR.
Read moreMarch 6, 2017
March 6, 2017
Our 2016 Year in Review video was published, this video included updates such as our earthquake app for Android devices, drone technology and school retrofits; as well as, updates on all of our programs across 6 countries.
Read moreFebruary 23-25, 2017
February 23, 2017
On February 10, 2017, a 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck Surigao Del Norte, Philippines. From February 23-25, our team performed a post-earthquake reconnaissance investigation of the damage and response of school buildings and housing within the area. Our team completed the reconnaissance on February 25, their results will contribute to the development of retrofit manuals.
Read moreFebruary 9, 2017
February 9, 2017
Our Founder and CEO, Elizabeth Hausler joined more than 150 social entrepreneurs in signing an open letter to President Trump, standing in solidarity against the Muslim Ban.
Read moreDecember 19, 2016
December 19, 2016
After the 2016 Aceh earthquake struck the Indonesian island of Sumatra on December 6, our Indonesian reconnaissance team worked right away to assess the damage on-site. The team documented the damage of homes and schools in the Pidie Jaya region through the Build Change blog. The team also met with representatives from the Ministry of Education and organizations such as UNICEF and Save the Children while providing technical assistance. The team also took the time to visit homes in the Aceh Besar district, where Build Change had provided technical assistance in 2006; many of the homes in this area had little to no major damage.
Read moreNovember 7, 2016
November 7, 2016
Our team in Nepal successfully retrofitting a school in the Sindhupalchowk district, thanks to the efforts of local communities and supporters, over 100 children were able to resume their education.
Read moreOctober 26, 2016
October 26, 2016
The team of engineers who responded to Hurricane Matthew in Haiti published this technical reconnaissance report with their findings.
Read moreOctober 11, 2016
October 11, 2016
Lloyd’s Charities Trust, the grant-making charity of the Lloyd’s insurance market, supports efforts to relieve suffering and help people rebuild their lives in the face of disaster. On October 11, 2016 we established a new three-year partnership with LCT, which will focus on building climate and earthquake resilience in informal settlements in Metro Manila and reducing seismic risk in informal neighborhoods in Medellín.
Read moreSeptember 21, 2016
September 21, 2016
Build Change was featured in the Opening Plenary Session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, and then Founder & CEO Elizabeth Hausler participated in the breakout session “What We Know Now: Applying Lessons Learned to Advance Haiti’s Future” as a part of the Haiti Action Network.
Read moreSeptember 11-16, 2016
September 11, 2016
Our partners at RMS sent a team of their staff to visit our program in Nepal and support with projects on the ground there. Hear about their experiences in their blog entries on our blog.
Read moreSeptember 6, 2016
September 6, 2016
The team of engineers who evaluated the west coast of Ecuador after the earthquake there in April 2016 compiled a reconnaissance report detailing their findings, which is now available online.
Read moreAugust 3, 2016
August 3, 2016
Today we began one of our first housing retrofits in Bogotá, Colombia after many months of designing, approval processes, and preparation.
Read moreJuly 28, 2016
July 28, 2016
Elizabeth Hausler Strand and our Latin America team participated in the beginning of a strategy for Medellin – Antioquia to become part of 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation. We are working on the project “Strengthening Community Risk Management” alongside the Rockefeller Foundation and ELADES.
Read moreJune 25, 2016
June 25, 2016
Build Change was chosen as one of the 100 organizations to be featured during Impact Journalism Day 2016, when 55 newspapers worldwide highlight positive innovations from more than 110 countries. Two French language papers, Le Soir in Belgium and L’Express de Madagascar, featured articles alongside two English language papers, The Straits Times in Singapore and The Philippine Star.
Read moreMay 4, 2016
May 4, 2016
The training center in Trou du Nord, Haiti was officially opened Officials from the local government, USAID, CANADO Technique, CECI, Global Communities, DFS Construction, and Institut National de Formation Professionnelle (INFP) were among the guests we were honored to host.
Read moreMay 2016
May 1, 2016
Our team in the Philippines hosted 12 engineers and technical staff from the Bhutanese government. Representatives from the Bhutanese Ministries of Works and Human Settlements, Education, Health, Culture and Disaster Management attended. They were interested in learning about confined masonry, to see whether the technology can be transferred to Bhutan.
Read moreApril 30, 2016
April 30, 2016
Global Director of Engineering Lizzie Blaisdell led our team to Ecuador after the earthquake on April 16 that left 26,000 people homeless. She was accompanied by Juan Caballero, Director of Programs and Partnerships for Latin America, who is from Honduras and is currently based in Bogotá, Colombia where he leads our resilience program for Latin America. Project Engineer Walter Cano, from Colombia, was also on the trip, bringing a South American perspective to the team along with his expertise in structural engineering.
Read moreApril 25, 2016
April 25, 2016
One year after the devastating earthquake in Nepal, our team there shares the story of supporting many rural communities in rebuilding their homes, schools, and lives.
Read moreApril 20, 2016
April 20, 2016
Our 2015 Annual Report is published. This year’s report was dedicated to innovation as a means of building positive, permanent change.
Read moreMarch 28, 2016
March 28, 2016
On March 28, 2016 the Department of Public Works and Highways officially endorsed our Residential Design and Construction Guidelines in the Philippines. These guidelines give visual, easy-to-understand instructions for each step in the process of building a disaster-resistant house, and were created to incorporate materials and technologies already available to local communities.
Read moreMarch 2016
March 1, 2016
Build Change Board of Directors welcomes two new members: Grace Hanson and Mary Lou Zoback.
Read moreJanuary 28, 2016
January 28, 2016
Build Change won the OpenIDEO Urban Resilience Challenge with our project to proactively retrofit slums in Metro Manila.
Read moreJanuary 22, 2016
January 22, 2016
Build Change as an organization is registered in Nepal.
Read moreDecember 18, 2015
December 18, 2015
Elizabeth Hausler is featured in this video and blog series by the World Economic Forum in conjunction with the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs Program.
Read moreDecember 8, 2015
December 8, 2015
Kate and Bheng from our Philippines team attended the first ARISE Philippines General Meeting. Kate spoke about achieving high potential for impact if ARISE members commit to tangible action, which relies on knowledge creation in terms of disasters as they apply to the Philippine context.
Read moreNovember 3, 2015
November 3, 2015
Our Haiti program signs the first ever agreement between Build Change and a program country government. The Housing Construction and Public Buildings Unit (UCLBP in French) has partnered with us to complete various projects in 2016 and 2017.
Read moreOctober 8, 2015
October 8, 2015
Elizabeth Hausler, founder and CEO of Build Change, gave the CEE Distinguished Lecture on October 8, 2015 at UC Berkeley College of Engineering.
Read moreJuly 10-12, 2015
July 10, 2015
Build Change Haiti participated in the first annual Haitian Olympiad Skills Competition, a first-of-its kind contest organized by the Haitian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (CMAH) and the National Institute of Professional Training (INFP), with the support of USAID’s Local Enterprise & Value Chain Enhancement (LEVE) Project. The competition took place at MATCON 2015, Haiti’s first-ever construction exposition and trade fair hosted by the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Haiti).
Read moreBuild Change responds to Nepal Earthquake
May 5, 2015
Build Change responds to Nepal Earthquake, sending team of engineers.
Read moreJune 29, 2015
March 29, 2015
The 2014 annual report celebrates 10 years of Build Change and includes 10 lessons for 10 years, updates on our new programs in Colombia, Guatemala, and the Philippines, and stories from the field. Learn more about our impact since 2004!
Read moreMarch 16, 2015
March 16, 2015
Our sub-office in Lhoskeumawe, Indonesia is open! See this location.
Read moreMarch 13, 2015
March 13, 2015
As of March 13, 2015, Build Change is now a Social Welfare and Development Agency in the Philippines, the equivalent of nonprofit status.
Read moreFebruary 19, 2015
February 19, 2015
Our engineering team visited several damaged schools in Guatemala as part of a field study for retrofitting to make these schools safe again. Students are attending class in this building.
Read moreEusi and Helen
December 1, 2014
Eusi and Helen lost their home to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013. They received training and technical assistance from Build Change while they rebuilt their home, with support from partner Cordaid. Just two months after they completed their home, they sheltered 17 neighboring families from the powerful Typhoon Hagupit in December 2014.
Read moreSeptember 2, 2014
September 2, 2014
Build Change celebrates its 10th anniversary with the rollout of a new logo and this website.
Read moreAugust 22, 2014
August 22, 2014
Build Change secures local registration in the Philippines, which will enable stronger partnerships with the Philippines government in support of safe reconstruction and disaster risk mitigation throughout the country.
Read moreMay 2014
May 1, 2014
David Friedman join the Build Change board of directors.
Read moreMay 2014
May 1, 2014
Build Change signs a memorandum of agreement with the World Bank Global Program on Safer Schools. Build Change expands its mission to include schools as well as residential units and Sig Anderson joins the Build Change board of directors.
Read moreMarch 28, 2014
March 28, 2014
Rockefeller Foundation profiles Build Change’s work in the Philippines, featuring Build Change COO Gordon Goodell.
Read moreMarch, 2014
March 1, 2014
Build Change expands the better building materials program in Haiti, working with local small businesses to create jobs, produce stronger blocks and market them to the general public. Read Nicolas Chevelon’s story. Word
Read moreFebruary 12, 2014
February 12, 2014
Le Nouvelliste, the national newspaper of Haiti, features the innovative partnership between Build Change and Sogesol, the microfinance subsidiary of Sogebank, in Haiti to bundle technical assistance with housing microfinance, the Kredi Bel Kay program. Read the story here.
Read moreJanuary 2014
January 1, 2014
Build Change registers in Indonesia as a local non-profit, Yayasan Bangunan Cemerlang Indonesia (YBCI), which means “brilliant building”, opening the door to local partnerships.
Read moreDecember, 2013
December 2, 2013
Build Change engineers visit the Philippines and start training local engineers in safe construction.
Read moreNovember 18, 2013
November 18, 2013
NPR includes Build Change’s work in a story on how and where to rebuild in the Philippines.
Read moreOctober 15 and November 8, 2013
October 15, 2013
Two events hit the Philippines; the Bohol earthquake kills 222 people and typhoon Haiyan (known locally as Yolanda) wipes through the central Visayas, killing 6,340 and destroying 1.2 million homes and schools. Build Change decides to open a program in the Philippines.
Read moreOctober 2013
October 4, 2013
Build Change would not have been possible without Martin’s inspiration. Martin continues to serve on the board of directors.
Read moreOctober 2, 2013
October 2, 2013
RMS supports Build Change and becomes a Global Platform Partner.
Read moreOctober, 2013
October 1, 2013
Martin Fisher, Co-Founder and CEO of KickStart and chair of the Build Change board of directors, hands the chair over to Paul VanderMarck.
Read moreJuly 2, 2013
July 2, 2013
A Mw= 6.2 earthquake hits near Takengon, Aceh, up in the coffee-growing mountains, killing 35 people and damaging or destroying 4,300 houses. With USAID OFDA support, Build Change starts an innovative, low cost per impact program to mobilize community members to provide technical assistance to over 2,500 homeowners to rebuild. Build Change implements a large-scale awareness program through radio and flyers, and is successful in convincing many homeowners to rebuild from timber instead of masonry.
Read moreJune, 2013
June 13, 2013
Degenkolb Engineers, Build Change and the Haiti MTPTC win the SEAONC Award of Excellence for the Haiti Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit Guidelines. This award is for outstanding achievement in the development of structural engineering practice and concepts through the analysis, design, evaluation and/or testing of structures resulting in the preparation of a study, research project, guideline or reference standard. Click here to learn more.
Read moreApril 23, 2013
April 23, 2013
The World Economic Forum publishes Build Change’s blog post “What Latin America Needs to Know About Earthquakes” in anticipation of Build Change’s expansion to Latin America. Read it here. The Inter-American Development Bank picks it up a few months later and translates it to Spanish.
Read moreJan, 2012
January 3, 2012
Build Change publishes the first of three primers requested by USAID, “Building Back Housing in Post-Disaster Situations – Basic Engineering Principles for Development Professionals”
Read more2012
January 1, 2012
In partnership with Cordaid, Build Change implements the first large-scale retrofitting technical assistance program in Haiti, impacting nearly 1,200 houses. Read Oramene Lamarre’s story.
Read moreOctober 2011
October 1, 2011
Elizabeth named a 2011 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year for the US.
Read moreJuly 2011
July 1, 2011
Elizabeth is honored by ELLE as one of “9 for All Mankind”, nine women who are educating, rebuilding, doctoring, employing, and sustaining the world.
Read moreJune 2011
June 1, 2011
Elizabeth wins the 2011 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability
Read moreCaterpillar, 2011
March 1, 2011
In Indonesia, Build Change expands a partnership with Caterpillar Foundation to train vocational students and teachers, reaching over 6,000. In Haiti, Build Change spends most of the year developing retrofitting guidelines and training people, waiting for someone to start deploying cash subsidies for materials and labor for housing reconstruction. The money in Money – Technology – People is so far missing; a stool with two legs cannot stand. These short courses are good for building awareness but have limited long-term impact on skills development because they are not done on-the-job while rebuilding homes.
Read moreOctober 2010
October 1, 2010
Hilti Foundation becomes a major partner and donor and takes a board seat. With the Hilti Foundation support, Build Change builds a senior management team, which eventually grows to 10 people on the 10th anniversary, 50% women.
Read moreSeptember 2010
September 1, 2010
Build Change writes an article chronicling the experience in trying to shift donors and agencies to homeowner-driven reconstruction, published in Innovations journal and released at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting, where Elizabeth is a speaker on an innovative design panel. An essay by Dr. Hausler on the Build Change homeowner-driven model in Haiti is featured in the Innovations Journal, published by MIT press and the Clinton Global Initiative. Read the essay.
Read moreAugust, 2010
August 1, 2010
Build Change starts work in Haiti by providing critical guidance on the repair guideline being developed by various agencies, pushing it more toward a retrofit guide, and signing an MOU with the Haiti MTPTC, which remains in place to this day.
Read moreApril 16, 2010
April 16, 2010
Wired includes Build Change in a blog on rebuilding Haiti: “This is why Build Change doesn’t win a lot of these cool, prestigious awards,” Hausler says. “What we do is very low-tech. It’s not very fancy. It’s not really anything new. It’s just improving an existing technology, but by doing that we reach so many more people with locally appropriate solutions.”… LINK: Wired Covers Build Change’s Work
Read moreMarch, 2010
March 2, 2010
Build Change goes to Haiti, meets these homeowners on the edge of Leogane, who have already started rebuilding. They have invested their own resources in building a safer building, and are eager for more information on disaster-resistant construction. The first sign that the homeowner-driven model can work in Haiti.
Read moreJanuary 18, 2010
January 18, 2010
The New York Times features Build Change in an article about rebuilding after Haiti: “Managing Disasters with Small Steps”
Read moreJanuary 12, 2010
January 12, 2010
A catastrophic Mw = 7.0 earthquake hits near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Over 100,000 people were killed; 250,000 housing units lost. The previous day, the Build Change board of directors endorsed an expansion plan to Latin America to work with people to build safe buildings before an earthquake strikes; that expansion is put on hold.
Read moreSeptember 14, 2009
October 14, 2009
The Jakarta Globe Covers Build Change Work in Padang
Read moreSeptember 30, 2009
September 30, 2009
Another earthquake hits West Sumatra, proof of concept for Build Change: none of the 655 homeowners who followed Build Change minimum standards for safe construction have damage in this earthquake. Build Change expands operations again, supporting NGOs such as CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, Oxfam, and Save the Children to provide technical assistance for safe housing reconstruction and builders training programs. While external agencies promote temporary shelters and masonry structures, Build Change supports the local government in promoting timber frame buildings, already common and preferred, and a cash plus technical assistance rebuilding model (homeowner-driven reconstruction).
Read moreAugust 28, 2009
August 28, 2009
Elizabeth wins and Ashoka-Lemelson fellowship.
Read moreMay 5, 2009
May 5, 2009
Near the first anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake, NPR All Things Considered runs a story on Build Change’s homeowner-driven reconstruction program in China. LINK: NPR Story on Rebuilding in China
Read moreApril 24, 2009
April 24, 2009
Natural History New Zealand films a documentary to air on National Geographic about the Wenchuan earthquake, featuring a series of interviews with scientists and engineers including Dr. Elizabeth Hausler.
Read moreApril 2, 2009
April 2, 2009
Paul VanderMarck, Chief Products Officer with Risk Management Solutions, joins Build Change board of directors.
Read moreNovember 12, 2008
November 12, 2008
Build Change wins the Tech Award for Technology Benefiting Humanity in the Katherine M. Swanson Equality Category.
Read moreTumen Township
July 1, 2008
In China, Build Change partners with the Tumen Township government and a local NGO to implement a successful technical assistance programs. All elements are in place – Money – Technology – People. Money: the government provided sufficient funding for rebuilding a basic house. People: they provided enforcement (through our team of Chinese construction professionals) and incentives for following the standards. Build Change empowered homeowners with the knowledge and technology to build safely (Read Xing Dayan’s Story). Technology: confined masonry is the commonly preferred structural system, for which there was already a building code in China. Our value-add was to make it understandable for homeowners, builders, and technical college students.
Read moreMay 12, 2008
May 12, 2008
Mw=7.9 earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan, China levels entire villages, kills 69,195 people with an additional 18,392 missing, and leaves at least 5 million people homeless. Many collapsed buildings are multi-story, made of poorly confined masonry walls with precast concrete plank roofs. This building type is common in China, Central Asia and Eastern Europe and likely to result in more devastation in future events.
Read moreMarch 28, 2005
March 28, 2008
Mw=8.6 earthquake off Nias island rocks Aceh, a few days after Elizabeth arrives in Banda Aceh. Build Change hires its first three staff: an Indonesian engineer, an Indonesian architect, and an Indonesian quantity estimator, and begins designing and building houses with Mercy Corps in Lampisang and Keunue eu, Aceh Besar. The partnership with Mercy Corps has continued through other earthquakes in Indonesia, China and Haiti.
Read moreJanuary 10, 2008
January 10, 2008
Build Change begins operations in West Sumatra, providing design advice to 655 homeowners who receive small grants from the Indonesian government to rebuild. Many homeowners cannot afford to build confined masonry buildings well; Build Change begins promoting timber frame with masonry skirt wall, a common building type in West Sumatra.
Read moreAugust 15, 2007
August 15, 2007
Mw=8.0 earthquake near Pisco, Peru kills 519 people and destroys over 58,000 houses. Elizabeth visits the area in early 2008; many commercial building owners following good practices in rebuilding new confined masonry buildings, while homeowners lack access to engineering advice and construction supervision needed to rebuild safely. While trying to raise money to start a program in Peru, the earthquake happens in Sichuan and shifts Build Change’s course to China.
Read moreMarch 6, 2007 and September 12, 2007
March 6, 2007
Two earthquakes hit West Sumatra and Bengkulu in the span of about six months; Build Change begins to wind down the program in Aceh and plan the move to West Sumatra, where the homeowner-driven model is more likely to work, given the low involvement of foreign NGOs and the Indonesian government’s pending shift to cash plus technical assistance housing reconstruction model.
Read moreOctober 2006
October 1, 2006
That some organizations don’t care about construction quality, or lack the ability, will or budget to enforce it, starts to become evident in Aceh.
Read moreSeptember 2006
September 1, 2006
Build Change develops design and construction guidelines for confined masonry single story homes, Build Change expands to providing design reviews, train the trainer programs, and inspection services to other organizations such as CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam, and IOM, impacting over 4,200 homes by the end of 2007.
Read moreMay 26, 2006
May 26, 2006
Mw=6.3 hits Indonesia near Yogyakarta, killing more than 5,700 people. Build Change does a reconnaissance study which uncovers some very compelling photos of why buildings collapse and why they don’t.
Read moreMarch 17, 2006
March 17, 2006
Build Change joins the Draper Richards Kaplan portfolio of social entrepreneurs.
Read moreFirst houses in Aceh
March 12, 2006
Build Change finishes its first houses in Aceh. They are called “best in Aceh” by a team of Indonesian academics and engineers. Ibu Ruslan AB says, “now I can sleep at night”.
Read morePerson of the Week
March 6, 2006
Elizabeth featured as abc NEWS Person of the Week on World News Tonight.
Read moreDecember 26, 2004
December 26, 2004
Massive Mw=9.1-9.3 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean causes devastation throughout the region. Given the enormous need for housing in Sumatra, Indonesia and the high likelihood of additional seismic activity there, Elizabeth abandons plans for starting first programs in India and Iran and focuses on Indonesia.
Read moreBuild Change incorporated
September 2, 2004
Build Change incorporated in State of California as Center for Earthquake Resistant Houses. A few months later, changed the name to Build Change.
Read moreEchoing Green Fellowship
June 10, 2004
Elizabeth wins an Echoing Green Fellowship, providing the seed funding and confidence to start Build Change.
Read moreMay 2004
May 1, 2004
Elizabeth visits Iran twice, in May and October of 2004, planning to start a technical assistance program in the areas hit by the Bam earthquake, noting deficiencies in construction practices on newly built houses. Unfortunately, Build Change’s application for a license from the U.S. Treasury Department to work in Iran is turned down.
Read moreDecember 26, 2003
December 26, 2003
Mw=6.6 earthquake near Bam, Iran kills 26,271 in the early morning hours, many crushed by heavy roofs on weak walled buildings.
Read more2003
January 1, 2003
True to the “learn first” part of the Build Change model: Elizabeth spends a year in India on a Fulbright Fellowship studying and assisting with the post-earthquake housing reconstruction in Gujarat, and visiting areas hit by the 1993 Killari (Maharashtra) earthquake and the 1999 Chamoli (Uttaranchal) earthquake.
Read moreBuild Change 2003
January 1, 2003
Using the Gujarat homeowner-driven reconstruction model as inspiration, Elizabeth formulated the Build Change theory of change, and the Build Change six step model. We would not build houses for people, but instead use a technical assistance model and leverage the financing of others as incentives for safe construction.
Read moreJanuary 26, 2001
January 26, 2001
Mw=7.7 earthquake in Kachchh near Bhuj, Gujarat, India kills over 20,000 people and destroys over 400,000 homes. It got Elizabeth’s attention: why do so many people die when an earthquake happens in a developing country? It’s not the earthquake that kills people, it’s the collapse of a poorly built building. A man-made problem with a man-made solution. So it started as an engineering challenge and a social justice issue: everyone deserves the right to a safe house.
Read more