Housing for Permanently Ailing Persons

SAMHATHI also helps the terminally sick and permanently ailing confined at home, who are also extremely poor and live in congested conditions. The project helped their impoverished families to repair shelter, adapt the environment of the ill members and protect them from further deterioration, infection and contagious diseases. Modest housing facilities were built: one room in the size of 3.5 meter x 3.0 meter and a bath room in the size of 2.0 meter x 1.5 meter attached with the existing family house for the exclusive use of the patients. Not only were these terminally sick persons helped to have basic housing and toilet facilities; from a community point of view, the most notable achievement of the project is that it has set a model as to how it could help. The Sub-Committee for Housing provided support to the families by raising financial and human resources and thus ensured the local community's active participation in the project. The community made available skilled and unskilled labor either fee of cost or at bare minimum costs. The model is also a good reason for the CBOs in each area to put pressure on Local Self-Governments to help such persons and families with the support of local communities. All the activities have come to an end by 10 September 2010. After the completion of the room and the toilet facility, in each house a gathering of all the SHG members was organized to formally shift the terminally sick to the new facility. The representatives from the Local Self- Governments also participated in most of the functions at the request of the CBOs. Contact: Fr. Antony Jacob Paliath samhathi@sancharnet.in