Shelter for Life International (SFL), headquartered in Minnesota, USA, is a nonprofit organization with a mission to demonstrate God’s love by enabling people affected by disaster to rebuild their communities and restore their lives. SFL employs over 600 people around the world.

The original focus was on providing shelter to refugees from Afghanistan who were struggling to survive in nearby Pakistan following the Soviet invasion in 1978. Thor and Debi Armstrong moved to Pakistan in 1982 and with funding from a United Nations program began to build geodesic domes for Afghan refugees. In 1984, Shelter Now International was officially registered with the Government of Pakistan as a non-profit organization (and also in Perth, Australia).

Today SFL serves in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and the United States. Past projects have been in Angola, Burundi, Honduras, India, Iran, Kosovo, Macedonia, Sudan and Western Sahara.

SFL’s mission has expanded beyond building shelters. SFL now also works to rebuild and enhance entire communities with construction and community development projects.

Over 1,800 multi-purpose geodesic domes for thousands of refugees, widows and the disabled have been built over the years for the Afghans. Later, factories were established in Pakistan and Afghanistan to produce concrete roof beams and housing components to help families rebuild their homes and communities.

Some examples of SFL’s projects:

* Darfur- The Sustainable Livelihood Development project has helped 125 returnee families from Sudan. SFL has purchased and donated to the families 125 hand hoes, 125 pangas, 125 axes, worked with the local Ministry of Agriculture to contribute 9 ox-ploughs, and purchased bulls for the families.

* Iraq - SFL has successfully completed a $3.7-million pipeline project in northern Iraq that will supply clean drinking water to more than 165,000 people. Funding was provided by a grant from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Population and Refugee Migration together with material contributions from the Kurdish Regional Government. SFL had been delivering water by tanker trucks to more than 1,000 families before the pipeline was constructed.

* Afghanistan - With USAID funding, SFL constructed 32 schools and 20 clinics in five provinces across Afghanistan. Local Afghan construction firms were used for much of the construction work, which provided them with income and construction experience. A new project has built 145 durable starter homes benefiting 14,719 people. The following phase will construct 435 more starter homes and 435 latrines for Afghan refugees returning home.

* Pakistan - Following the 2005 earthquake that killed more than 82,000 people, SFL is in the process of completing 10 schools and is helping thousands of families rebuild their homes. A new grant from PLAN International was received in late 2007 to build 12 additional schools for almost 1,750 students. Another program has trained more than 1,000 skilled laborers and artisans in earthquake resistant building techniques. Another project in 2008 included the planting of 2000 trees to an area prone to erosion and landslides.

Information on donating, volunteering, internships and program details can be found on their website.