Special Projects
Habitat for Humanity Singapore is launching the Love Cambodia 21 to help raise funds and awareness for Habitat for Humanity Cambodia in aid of helping residents living at the Stung Meanchey Dumpsite in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Background
Stung Meanchey Municipal Waste Dump is located in southern Phnom Penh, in Stung Meanchey district. The dump itself covers about approximately 6 hectares. About 200 odd families, consisting of 2,000 people, about 600 of which are children, live and work there.
The children and adults work for around USD $1 per day, by picking reusable or recyclable materials to sell. It is appalling to know that families pay USD 40 a month for the rent of a dilapidated and rundown shelter, unfiltered water and electricity.
The living conditions of the place are deplorable. The toxic smoke given off by the burning rubbish, and the poor sanitation and hygiene conditions often cause health hazards and diseases to the people living there. Additionally, a number of children work in the place barefoot and are exposed risk of biohazards such as being pricked by used syringe needles which spead HIV and other viruses.
Habitat for Humanity Cambodia aims to provide housing solutions to 21 families who are residing at the dumpsite. These families have taken the initiative to secure the land with the aid of an Australian NGO. HFH intends to help these families with the following:
• 21 brick houses
• Micro-loans to the families
• Sanitation with flush latrines
• Rainwater catchment
• Water pumps
• Electrical connection from government supplies instead of generators
• Facilitate job opportunities in the nearby garment factory (3 km from the site)
• Leverage on existing job skills they practiced at the dump site (e.g. shoe repair).
• Establish a small tourist oriented business near a nearby Buddhist temple which attracts a lot of tourists
• Possibility of using nearby land for gardening.
• Fishing at the nearby lake
A total of $410 000 (SGD) needs to be raised for this project.
Click here to donate to the project.
Please indicate 'Love Cambodia 21' on the back of your cheque or on the form.
See this house?
Actually it
is less than a house. Its more like some bricks and zinc placed over a bed. But this is where 83 year-old Madam Han Fu-Rong calls home. Together with another 13
poor elderly, Madam Han lives in an abandon secondary school
compound.
I met the deaf Madam Han during my trip to Henan, China last week. I was there to see if Habitat
can start work in that province, which is one of the poorest provinces in China. Madam Han had 3 daughters, but 2 died and 1 went missing.
She was left to fend for herself until Mr Yao Jin-Qi found
her.
There are millions of people all over the world living in poverty, and there will
always be opportunities for Habitat for Humanity in Henan. The question is
whether we have the resources available.
Here is
Madam Han:
But you know something? My thinking processes were challenged by Mr Yao who found Madam Han in his village. You see, Mr Yao is a humble Christian farmer, quite ordinary. He had no great organisation behind him, no great resources, no network of donors,no volunteers and the like. What Mr Yao did however, was truly most remarkable. He simply started by bringing abandoned elderly poor into his family. And he did whatever he could to take care of them. He started in 1998, and by now, he has 14 of these elderly poor living with him and his wife, including Madam Han. For the past 10 years, more than 50 elderly poor has come under Mr Yao's care. He would even bury the dead at his own cost.
This is Mr Yao and some of the elderly poor with him. One is blind, one is deaf, and there was one invalid in the house behind the picture. Mr Yao is the one holding on to Madam Han.
The place Mr Yao and the elderly poor live is
an abandoned secondary school, with insufficient living space
because the main building looks like this (left):
So in the end, three elderly poor would share one small room with no ventilation whatsoever. I was overcome with emotions when I saw one of those rooms. The condition was simply deplorable.
Thankfully, you and I can so something about this.Mr Yao has provided the costing needed to build rooms for 14 elderly, including dining and kitchen facilities. The amount needed is S$60,000.
Doing everything with nothing. I still can't quite believe it, but Mr Yao Jin-Qi is doing exactly that. Surely we can do better, and ensure that these elderly poor have a decent place to live in?
Blessings.
Yong Teck Meng, National Director
Click
here to donate to the project.
Please indicate 'Henan' on the back of your cheque or on the form.