Building
Who lives in your house? In most Thai households in slum communities, peoples families, extended families, and adopted families all live under one roof.
This particular home has a unique, motley family. W*, a young mother of a baby was living here alone taking care of her child after her boyfriend was thrown in jail. Without an education, relatives nearby, nor work, W learned to make do with the dirt-floor, electricity-less, wooden-stilted shack. Mama T*, a relative of her boyfriend, felt moved to help.
This past July, Mama T began renovating W’s house so it could be more liveable and so she could start a small restaurant business to support them all. With very little resources and the labor of her own family, she laid a concrete floor, installed secure doors, and rewired electricity. She cooks and sells food out of the house and looks after the baby while W’s taken a job at a nearby building.
But, several things have remained a problem at the house without the capital or the capabilities to fix. The stairs up to the bedroom were difficult to get up and multiple people have injured themselves falling down them. The small bathroom has a large gap in the wall so unless W showered in complete darkness, there was no privacy.
And that’s where the team from Calvary Chapel Aurora (& friends) came in. Coming to do construction work at NightLight International, an organization working with women caught in trafficking and prostitution, they volunteered a day to fix up W’s house. Ten volunteers, a lot of sweat, a little capital, and several hours later, W now has a private and enlarged bathroom, and safer stairs and doorways for their family.
Check out the improved bathroom:
Bathroom
Bathroom in the shack housing
Thanks guys!
*names have been changed for privacy
