The will is the greatest weapon to change the world. Colombia is a country in the far north of South America. Actually, there are more than 19 million people in poverty. This can mean many things: improvised houses, dirt floors, lack of access to public services such as water and sanitation and being ignored and excluded from the rest of society. That's why at TECHO, #ForColombia we want to build 150 houses for families who live in poverty for protects dignity and creates opportunities.
Can you imagine not having a house when it rains? This situation is experienced by millions of families in Colombia. Heavy rains and land mobilization put the habitability of children, adults and the elderly in an emergency. Houses built with cardboard, cans and canvas go to the floor. Leaks are made and issues such as diseases, lack of food, drinking water, electricity, basic rights that remain unaffected within public policies.
TECHO proposes 150 emergency homes or water and sanitation. This program meets the urgent housing need we find in most slums; it builds a bond of trust between the community and volunteers through joint work, and it mobilizes youth to take part in overcoming poverty as a society. This program is a specific, tangible, achievable and quick-to-implement solution. The houses we build are prefabricated modules of 215 square feet, built together by volunteers and families of the communities.
This project looks to better the conditions of families who live in poverty. We believe that through community-organized work, the resolutions reached and the solutions proposed have a better and more successful implementation rate, for these are reached by consensus within the community. Our programs have the goal of encouraging the development of independence, belonging and of empowering the members of the community to, lastly, generating solutions according to their needs and possibilities.