A needy family pose in front of their newly built flood-resistant house in Tan Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district, Quang Binh province. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Anyone who meets PhamThi Huong Giang, initiator and key operator of the "Nha Chong Lu"(Flood Resistant Houses) – a social project which supports residents living inareas affected by natural disasters, always wonders how this woman has so muchenergy to handle her heavy workload.
More widely known by her nickname, Jang Keu, thesmiley 38-year-old is a jack of all trades – from organising severalfundraising events for the project, to travelling thousands of kilometres toflood-prone areas to meet needy people, from connecting and collaborating withrelevant partners, to supervising the project’s implementation. Alongside theFlood Resistant Houses project, Giang also heads her two own businesses, whichprovide significant financial support for her charity project.
Launched in November 2013, Flood ResistantHouses has helped residents build safe houses and earn a living, thus relievingthe impacts of natural disasters and climate change.
The factor that sets Flood Resistant Housesapart from other charity and social projects is the direct participation ofneedy people. They are the ones involved in every steps of the process, fromplanning, to contributing to costs, designing their future homes, and evenbuilding the houses themselves.
“Having experience from working on several NGOprojects before, I understand deeply that it’s the beneficiaries playing thekey role in changing their own lives. That’s why, alongside providingassistance so needy people can build their own homes, Flood Resistant Housesalso inspires people to be motivated, helping boost their confidence andindependence,” Giang said.
Therefore, any family that agrees to join FloodResistant Houses will be asked to contribute 50 percent of the building cost,while the remainder will be donated by the project. Each house costs between50-80 million VND (2,200 -3,500 USD).
“Each building project has the participation ofthe beneficiary, Flood Resistant Houses, local authorities, and buildingmaterial suppliers,” Giang said.
“To avoid problems, we do not give moneydirectly to the households. Instead, we pay the suppliers and for otherexpenditures,” the chief of the Flood Resistant Houses project said.
The design of these houses is another importantfactor.
To be able to withstand natural disasters,mostly typhoons and flooding, these houses need to be specially designed: onstilts and with a loft, or two-storey houses where the upper level can be usedfor storage during floods.
Additionally, based on the geological conditionsof every region, as well as the habits and living conditions of each family,each house will be individually tailored.
“While houses for families that raise goatsshould have staircases for the animals to reach upper levels, ones forhouseholds that raise cows should have a covered space,” Giang explained aboutthe different house designs.
So far, Flood Resistant Houses has presentedeight designs, mostly created by architect Dinh Ba Vinh, another key operatorof the project.
Because the recipients can join every step ofthe project, including the design stage, some houses have the potential tostand out.
“The house can be bright blue with a yellowdoor. However, it doesn’t matter because that is their house. They can dowhatever they want to do. The project will ensure that the house is safe andstable,” Giang said.
The project was officially launched aftersuccessfully completing five flood-resistant houses in Son Thinh commune, HuongSon district in Ha Tinh.
Since then, the project has done an amazingamount of work – more than 520 flood resistant houses were built over the pastfour years, mostly in seriously flood-hit provinces of Quang Ninh, Ha Tinh,Quang Nam, and Quang Binh.
As the project targets more and more needypeople, a fixed annual amount of 2 billion VND (87,000 USD) from thebusinesses, plus donations from generous people seems not enough. However,Giang is not alone on her journey. Understanding the meaning of the project,many famous Vietnamese painters have donated their artworks, which will beauctioned to raise further funds for the charity homes.
However, at the beginning, things were not sosimple. “At our first few fundraising events, when people didn’t yet know aboutthe project, my friends and I had to put up our personal properties toauction,” Giang said.
So far, the Flood Resistant Houses project hasorganised 10 fundraising events. At the most recent event held in Hanoi, theproject raised more than 2.3 billion VND (103,000 USD), which, according toGiang, is enough to build 64 houses for victims of recent typhoon Damrey,which hit south central provinces in October last year.
This year, the project will continue to expandits assistance to families in Mekong Delta provinces.-VNA
VNA
