Dear Friends and Family,

Our family tradition is to wake up on Thanksgiving morning and tell the first person we see what we are thankful for. Here's what I'm thankful for:

1. You. You have supported Build Change (or you're thinking about it!) to save lives in earthquakes. Thank you.
2. Jobs. Mine and others you helped to create. We sometimes take for granted how rewarding they can be, and how fortunate we are to have them. We've created over 5,100 jobs in Haiti. 
3. Safe children. I'm thankful I don't have to worry about my kids' schools collapsing in an earthquake. Imagine living in Indonesia and sending your children to school to improve their chances in life, knowing that the buildings around them aren't built to withstand an earthquake. In 2014, Build Change will expand our services to include designing safe schools and training people to build and retrofit them.
4. Protecting women. In the tent camps in Haiti, women made homeless by the 2010 earthquake faced additional threats such as cholera, theft and violence. An estimated 3,635 women and girls are living in more secure, safe, disaster-resistant homes because of our work.
5. The future. The Philippines has been faced with terrible disasters recently. We have an opportunity to work together to rebuild safe houses so that the disaster survivors never have to face such a challenge again. We're sending a team there in December.

Wishing you and yours a happy and safe Thanksgiving.  

Elizabeth Hausler Strand

Founder and CEO