I don't know if you remember but about this time last year I visited an area in Klong Toey slum which had been decimated by fire (you can read about it here). I was just starting in my BWG Welfare role and going there made a huge impression on me.....one which has haunted me ever since. At the time I knew I was going to visit a fire site an
d had prepared myself for that but still wasn't really prepared for what I actually saw!! People were living in temporary shelters under a motorway - they had no water, no electricity, no sanitation and the entire place was infested with rats. It was shocking!! (We signed a cheque on the spot and that amount has been added to since).
A few weeks later we learned that our money was going to be used to build a house. The idea was that the house would be used to teach the people made homeless how to build their own (No money for builders so it's a DIY job) and the house would then be donated to one of the families made homeless when it was completed. All the families names were put in a pot and one was selected. When we next visited we met the lady who's family had won and we were invited to come back once all the building work in the area had been finished. (This is the house in the process of being built)Today we went back to the site........I didn't
recognise the place (trust me that is a good thing!!). There were still people living in, what I can only describe as, a shanty town but t
he area where the fire was has been transformed!! These are the before and after photo's!! (Can you believe the difference!!). We were invited into their home where we were presented with with drawings that had been done by the two girls who lived there and they both gave a little speech. It was very very humbling.
This is the house that BWG built
This is the lady of the house
and this is her with her daughters
Sometimes life is good!!
