Americans Millard and Linda Fuller began Habitat for Humanity International in 1976. Appalled to know that more than one-fifth of the world's people were living without decent shelter, this couple set out to do something about poor housing and homelessness. They called on volunteers to help build simple, safe and affordable houses in countries around the world. Families wanting the houses also worked at their construction, and undertook to pay back material costs, interest-free, over protracted periods. Since that beginning, more than 125,000 people in 54 countries have become owners of Habitat houses. Through community action, they have been helped to transform their lives in the security of their respectable new homes.
In 1998 Millard Fuller wrote in his book "More Than Houses" that at a Tokyo meeting, "Mariko Asano from the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies chapter of HFHI captured the hearts of everyone with her moving account of her involvement in Habitat for Humanity." Professor Craig Smith of Kyoto University of Foreign Studies wrote that "This remarkable young woman spent two turning-point years in England, and returned with leadership qualities and a rare sense of purpose. She is an example of the strength that lies in so many of today's England-Japan connections."
Her parents' only child, born in a small town in Hyogo Prefecture, Mariko says she always wanted to see a bigger world. Her interest in foreign cultures grew while she was in high school. At the same time she wanted to do something meaningful in life. She said: "When Kobe suffered its earthquake, I really began thinking about taking some action. I was looking for something that I could start from scratch."