Door Number Two...
Yesterday, Marc and I met with Oxfam/Rupantar (local NGO) to talk about their housing relief program. When we first arrived in Rayenda, we met with the local government and were cleared to work in the area, since no one else had staked that out as their territory. Also, we're talking such small numbers, that it's not an "overlap in services" (horror!) if we do end up working in an area with another NGO presence.
This past week, we've been seeing people in Oxfam caps walking around the neighborhood, but when we try to talk to them, they sort of scurry off. (The survey crew is Bangladeshi, maybe they get nervous when foreigners approach, or maybe they just don't understand us.) Anyway, we've been hearing murmurings about an "Oxfam house" and thought we should pay them a visit to see if we could partner.
Turns out, Oxfam's program is simply distributing 2 bahn (1 bahn is 72 feet of tin which can be cut into pieces of varying length, it's a nonsensical unit of measure) of tin (in this case, probably 18 sheets of 8 ft. tin) along with a handful of nails. Based on what I've seen with previous housing material distribution programs, the tin will probably be of a thickness where it comes in a roll on a cardboard tube in a box and can be cut to length with the serrated metal edge on the box. Ok so not quite that bad, but close. We're using .40 gauge on our roof and .20 on our walls; we've seen other groups distribute .18 or .16.
Disturbingly, the families in the area now think that there's the possibility of getting an Oxfam house and, as with much relief, are weighing the benefit of accepting what's currently on offer versus the prospect of something better in the future. I can understand their position, but also have a bit of pride in what HODR has to offer!
In the afternoon, we stopped by a home we're considering for the third HODR Half house. The wife said that our house was too small, even after we explained that the idea was to provide half a house, and that the family could then use their salvaged materials to build the second half. This would have easily filled the footprint of their home. Then the husband said that we could drop off our materials, and that they would wait for the Oxfam house and add our materials to that design. Rajib tried to explain that Oxfam is only offering 2 bahn of tin (as a reference, our design is 5 bahn of tin, plus lumber and hardware and construction), but they wouldn't hear it. Some of the other community members tried to dissuade them, but they had made up their mind.
As we walked away, Rajib said that he was sad and angry at this man for being foolish with this decision. But when shelter has turned from a need to a want, it's difficult to "settle" for something less than you think can get. The Oxfam material distribution starts next week. That might clear things up.
Other notes:
At the end of our meeting with Oxfam, in walks Bibi Lamond, a woman from Oxfam who I met in the Philippines while assessing for Project Santo Domingo! Cool to meet someone in one place and see them in a totally different country, a year and a couple events later!
This past week, we've been seeing people in Oxfam caps walking around the neighborhood, but when we try to talk to them, they sort of scurry off. (The survey crew is Bangladeshi, maybe they get nervous when foreigners approach, or maybe they just don't understand us.) Anyway, we've been hearing murmurings about an "Oxfam house" and thought we should pay them a visit to see if we could partner.
Turns out, Oxfam's program is simply distributing 2 bahn (1 bahn is 72 feet of tin which can be cut into pieces of varying length, it's a nonsensical unit of measure) of tin (in this case, probably 18 sheets of 8 ft. tin) along with a handful of nails. Based on what I've seen with previous housing material distribution programs, the tin will probably be of a thickness where it comes in a roll on a cardboard tube in a box and can be cut to length with the serrated metal edge on the box. Ok so not quite that bad, but close. We're using .40 gauge on our roof and .20 on our walls; we've seen other groups distribute .18 or .16.
Disturbingly, the families in the area now think that there's the possibility of getting an Oxfam house and, as with much relief, are weighing the benefit of accepting what's currently on offer versus the prospect of something better in the future. I can understand their position, but also have a bit of pride in what HODR has to offer!
In the afternoon, we stopped by a home we're considering for the third HODR Half house. The wife said that our house was too small, even after we explained that the idea was to provide half a house, and that the family could then use their salvaged materials to build the second half. This would have easily filled the footprint of their home. Then the husband said that we could drop off our materials, and that they would wait for the Oxfam house and add our materials to that design. Rajib tried to explain that Oxfam is only offering 2 bahn of tin (as a reference, our design is 5 bahn of tin, plus lumber and hardware and construction), but they wouldn't hear it. Some of the other community members tried to dissuade them, but they had made up their mind.
As we walked away, Rajib said that he was sad and angry at this man for being foolish with this decision. But when shelter has turned from a need to a want, it's difficult to "settle" for something less than you think can get. The Oxfam material distribution starts next week. That might clear things up.
Other notes:
At the end of our meeting with Oxfam, in walks Bibi Lamond, a woman from Oxfam who I met in the Philippines while assessing for Project Santo Domingo! Cool to meet someone in one place and see them in a totally different country, a year and a couple events later!
posted by Stefanie at 6:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home