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In a project funded by Dow Chemical Company in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), modular housing units were provided to the earthquake affected Nias Island.

When Dow, a diversified chemical company, learned of the Asian tsunami in December 2004, it looked to longstanding NGO partners like Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes in Indonesian villages. Through a mutual partner organization, Dow also was introduced to a new partner, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), an inter-governmental organization that promotes humane migration and provides humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.

Working with IOM, Dow donated and distributed 2,000 mattresses made with Dow materials to families in Indonesia that had lost their homes, allowing them a measure of comfort following the devastation. IOM erected more than 150 First Response Building modular units provided by the Dow Chemical Company. Dow was so impressed with IOM’s logistical capabilities and understanding of displaced persons that the two groups agreed to collaborate on a second, more expansive project to build temporary homes on the remote island of Nias.