Building Hope: SARVAM’s Housing Initiative Transforming Live
Housing has been one of the most successful initiatives of Sarvam. Prior to the initiation of this project, most houses in this area were in dilapidated, decrepit conditions, leaving people to endure the rigors of weather, and other natural calamities. There was no sense of privacy among families, and the health of people was also at stake with non-existent or inadequate roofs over their heads.
The housing initiative has demonstrated a sea change in the attitude of the people of the village towards self-reliance and also brought about an awareness of rights and a sense of pride and dignity in the families staying in the newly constructed or renovated secure houses. People are now more knowledgeable and demanding of their rights vis-à-vis the government schemes and the programs specifically aimed for them. The aspiration to own a house and to take the effort of saving money for it by working harder is increasing, thus, leading to improved earnings and saving habits also.
Building Homes, Transforming Lives: SARVAM’s Housing Initiative Overview
- The Sarvam team initially helped in constructing and renovating houses for the needy. In 2005, to start with, SARVAM assisted 7 families to upgrade their houses at a cost of ₹10,000 each, under the ‘Housing for Rural Poor’ programme.
- In 2006, village committees were formed to enlist the community’s involvement and participation in the programme. These committees identified families which were in acute distress and needed housing assistance most urgently. The committees monitored the construction of the houses and ensured that all these families received a roof on their head by the end of the year.
- The materials required for the work were sourced locally out of Sarvam’s funds and the labour component was contributed by the beneficiary. The entire work was carried out by involving the beneficiary in every aspect of construction such as choice of material, sourcing of the materials, manner of householder’s contribution, etc.
- In 2007 , construction of 12 new houses was completed for homeless families. The cost was borne by Sarvam and the beneficiary. The work on another 12 new houses commenced. Five existing houses, which were badly damaged due to heavy rain, were also renovated at a cost of INR 20,000.
- The cost of construction of each new house was INR 120,000, comprising of Sarvam’s contribution of INR 90,000 and the beneficiary’s contribution of INR 30,000. In addition, we realized that a majority of the families used to get displaced during the rainy season when they had to take shelter in public places like temples, schools, etc., as their houses had thatched roof structures which would leak or get completely destroyed due to heavy rainfall; the old roofs were replaced with better roofing material in over 90% of the households.
- In 2008, a total of 31 houses were newly constructed and 22 renovated. From 2008–2010, 56 new houses were constructed. From 2010 onwards, being a fund-intensive activity, Sarvam discontinued the construction of new houses. Sarvam’s volunteers also realized that though there were a number of government programs and schemes for the poor to apply and receive loans for housing and other requirements; which led to these funds being misused and underused. It is now facilitating people to effectively utilize the government housing schemes by following the housing model created by Sarvam in the previous years. However, it continues to help families in distress to renovate their houses.
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The fund that Sarvam now provides for the construction and renovations is in the form of assistance and not grants, in line with Sarvam’s aim to make the villagers self-reliant.
In fact, about 90% recovery rate has been achieved, which was due to the financial responsibility, ownership, and self-worth felt by the people of the villages.