At the project kickoff, some 100 Nissan employees took part in building homes for the target families. At the event, Takayuki Kimura, Nissan Motor Asia-Pacific President and Nissan Motor Thailand President, presented a check and keys of the donated vehicles to Chamnarn Wangtal, Habitat for Humanity Thailand CEO, and Rick Hathaway, Habitat for Humanity Vice-President for Asia-Pacific.
At the event, six families were the first to receive keys to their new homes from Mr. Kimura. Among them was Waraporn Komloi, a 38-year-old supermarket employee, who said: "As a family we had been discussing how to repair and improve our home. It was already old and dilapidated, and then the flooding damaged it further. Five of us used to share a toilet. As most of the family members aren't earning much, we weren't able to save anything. We used to be able to find loans, but ever since the flooding, getting a loan is very expensive.
"On behalf of the families, I thank Nissan and Habitat for Humanity Thailand for looking out for us and reaching out to give us some unexpected help. You have given us the house we had always wanted, but didn't know how to get."