Contact Information: Contact: Alyssa Nightingale 631-367-8599 anight@att.net
Official Agreement Signed Between Global Housing Foundation and the Government and Municipality of Panama
Homes to Be Built for Working Poor, Financed With Micro Mortgage Program Initiated by Global Housing Foundation and UN Habitat
| Source: Global Housing Foundation
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - November 6, 2009) - The Global Housing Foundation and both the
Government and Municipality of Panama recently made history at the United
Nations as they signed an agreement to build homes for the working poor.
These homes will be financed with the Micro Mortgage program initiated by
the Global Housing Foundation and UN Habitat. Signers for this historic
program included Ivan Carlucci, GHF Director, Panama; Carlos A. Duboy
Sierra, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Panama; Arsenio
Fernandez G., Secretary General, Panama; Laurence Schreiber, Managing
Director, Merrill Lynch: Bank of America, New York; Tim Wilkens, President
Global Housing Foundation and Axumite Gebre-Egziabher, Director, NY Office,
UN Human Settlements Programme.
The Municipality and Government of Panama intend to offer incentives and
provide high level support to developers that will construct homes. The
homes will be offered for sale to municipal workers within Panama. The
first phase of the program is set to construct and deliver 2,000 homes to
qualified families. In addition, the Panama government agreed to a new
$5,000 down payment gift to be provided for each GHF home buyer. "The
collaboration between Panama, GHF and UN Habitat enables us to offer
affordable homes to families in Panama who are qualified," explains Arsenio
Fernandez G., Panama Secretary General. "The Municipality of Panama is
proud to partner with the Global Housing Foundation and UN Habitat to make
the dream of home ownership a reality," added Carlos A. Duboy Sierra,
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Panama.
Micro mortgage finance is a credit to help working poor families purchase
and finance a home. Home purchasers are families in urban areas with a
priority given to female-headed households that are economically
disadvantaged and face difficulty accessing long term mortgages.
This agreement will establish the Municipality of Panama as one of the most
innovative leaders, providing quality, affordable homes to its employees.
"We are committed to developing communities which provide citizens with
quality homes which are economically affordable," explains Tim Wilkens,
President, Global Housing Foundation. "This wonderful collaboration is the
first step in making the dream of home ownership a reality for so many
people around the world."