Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Four Families in Need of Houses

Over two recent weekends we visited four new families in desperate need of improved housing. Their stories are very different, but all very compelling.

Le Van The family

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Mom and five of the kids. Some are older and off at work. Dad didn't join the group photo, but is pictured below.

This family has had 10 kids. The first was severely affected by Agent Orange and died in infancy. The second child, a girl (2nd from right above), suffers serious developmental disabilities. She understands little and can't speak.

The family lives in a crumbling 3 room house near the beach (the father is a fisherman). Their house accommodates two beds and several pillows and mats on the floor at night. The house is over 40 years old and is losing some of its structural integrity.

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Orangehelpers wants to help this family replace their home with a larger, sturdier house on the same site. They say they will take the current roof down to the beach and live under it while the new house is under construction. I hope to get some pictures of THAT! It's rainy season!

More pictures of their current situation can be seen HERE.

Ngo Van Tuy family

Father Tuy is the Agent Orange victim in this family of four. His legs are withered and useless. He is a devoted father, but has no prospects in this rural area and so goes to Saigon to sell lottery tickets on the street for a month at a time interspersed with 2 week visits home. He is only able to bring home $5 income from the monthly forays!

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The second son was at school when we visited. Although they are excused from paying school fees due to a poverty exemption, $25 (5 months of dad's income) are needed for uniforms and supplies.

The Tuy family lives in an old, one-room house with a plastic sheet for a roof. There is a separate small room at the rear that serves as a "closet" and clothes drying area (as long as the roof doesn't blow off). The bedroom also serves as a garage for Tuy's handicap motor trike.

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Tuy wants to upgrade his existing house and add a room at the front. Orangehelpers will help him accomplish this, but we also want to help improve the family's situation. We will buy him a calf, which, when he sells it in two years, will allow him to buy another calf and use the remaining proceeds to support his family. This won't help for two years, so we will offer to replace his meager earnings from his time in Saigon with a $5 monthly subsidy until the calf can be sold. We will also award his school age son a scholarship to cover his school expenses.

This is one of the neediest, most deserving families we have met in my three years here and we really want them to succeed. More pictures of their situation can be seen HERE.

Le Van Truong Family

This family of five includes a middle child who has Down's Syndrome that is attributed to Agent Orange.

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The father, Truong, served in the Vietnamese army that brought an end to the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. He received no pay for his multi-year service, but still displays his service certificate proudly. Eight years ago the family built an undersized home with a low ceiling which they have just finished paying off. They couldn't afford to finish even this home, which still lacks the stucco covering inside and out that is customary here.

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Orangehelpers would like to help this family add a second bedroom and raise their ceiling four feet to give them some relief from the heat. More pictures of their situation can be seen HERE.


Pham Nhu Hon Family

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The rest of the Hon family, his wife and their Agent Orange affected son, has fled this situation to visit relatives in Hanoi.

The Hon family moved from Hanoi to a very isolated mountain village last year because their limited income didn't go very far in Hanoi's bustling economy. The family of three lives in a single "room" built of sticks and recycled plastic sacks next to his nephew's home.

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Mr. Hon says that when there is a downpour, his family is able to seek some respite on his nephew's front porch. If we can resolve some issues regarding the ownership of the land under his house, Orangehelpers would like to improve this family's situation. More pictures HERE.