Housing for Widows Living with Relatives in Cochin
Strict selection and implementation procedures were applied to provide houses to homeless families headed by widows. 60 families were finally selected from all over the coastal region. They were motivated to enhance their savings within self help groups. The houses were built with solid foundation, plastered brick walls and light concrete tiles or zinc roof. They have two rooms, kitchen and toilet. The involvement of the families in material procurement, supervision and financial management made possible an efficient implementation and expenditures within the budgetary allocations. Construction is now completed. 274 persons belonging to the 60 families participated in the project. Taking also into account the relatives and close friends who rendered helping hands the number of participants in the processes goes beyond 500. Gender presences were explicit with the fraternity of women shouldering major responsibilities. The new house owners hope to initiate a promising family life and good social relations. Their positive energy will be channeled to other programs such as income generation. Contact: Fr. Johnson Chirammel chirammelj@yahoo.com
