The 4 pictures below show before and after of one families' home and before and in-progress of another. The first set is of a family of a widow and 5 children (3 in front of their leaky house and all 5 in their newly finished house)
The owners of the house shown below is a couple with 7 children. The husband is handicapped. Their leaking house on the left and putting in the corner posts for their new house with friends helping.
The woman shown below is a widow with six children, who was close to leaving the community because she could no longer continue living in the dilapidated house.
Much to the joy of the village, her house was replaced and all that's needed is the mud and straw finishing on the outside.
With her house upgraded, her name can now be entered in the floor draw.
1. and 3. Newly painted homes - note the honey extractor (right hand corner of number 1) borrowed from the Farmers Association for honey extraction.
2. An interior view of a home and much brighter than it was before.
100% COMPLETION of 5 villages
Although we are helping villagers in 14 villages make positive changes in their living conditions, our focus now is 100% of homes in 5 villages to have non-leaking roofs, concrete floors, wells and family latrines.
These 5 villages are within a geographic area separated by roads, rivers and mountains from other villages and are easily reached by our workers and by donkey carts carrying construction supplies. There are a total of over 250 families in this area.
CONCRETE FLOORS for farm families
Concrete Floors = Smart Kids
Concrete floors result in:
- no mud,
- no spit on the floor,
- less spread of diarrhea,
- less respiratory diseases and runny noses,
- no infestations of parasites or insects,
- a clean place for children to play, study, eat and sleep,
- no termites so the wood in the walls last much longer,
- furniture being built so rural children know how to sit in chairs when they go to an urban area,
- inspire families to smooth their mud walls, make furniture, and decorate their walls.
It was unheard of for a farm home to have a concrete floor. In 2008, Ethiopian television and radio came to interview people about the concrete floors.
Each year, homes to receive concrete floors are chosen by a drawing.
RESEARCH RESULTS on concrete floors click here Read about the benefits and considerations and priority of concrete floors. This webpage has excellent information about sustainable development.
Where to start?
Concrete Floors
The process for deciding who gets a cement floor is simple - by drawing from Dennis' hat!
The Process of Floors ~
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1. The reality of Ethiopia is its lack of naturally formed gravel caused by glaciers. So, by hard labor, gravel is created.
2. The cement maker arrives and is immediately put to work.
3. A foundation is built.
4. The dirt floor is leveled and tamped down with speacial soil and water for 3 days.
5. Then the concrete is poured and finished with a final layer of cement.
A widow (with two friends) outside her house after the floor was layed with concrete, below is a close up
of the design put into the floor made by laying rope on the semi-wet cement and walking on it. And below of three of her six children admiring their new and sanitary home.
Happy children seeing their new floor.
A woman decorated her walls with beautiful baskets after her house was done.
You've Made a Big Difference!
11/11/11 Adequate Housing since 7/1/05
105 Concrete floors for mud/straw homes (homes chosen by drawing) $400
87 "New" homes for poorest (metal roof, family does the rest) $480
A Great Beginning - Help Us Do MORE!
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