Habitat For Humanity (Visiting New Locations)

On the 6th of December our Service group joined with the Moir School had taken a trip out to a local region in Wathala. Our goal was to bring in an action purpose to help people there get the organization to help them with their housing conditions. When we arrived there the first observation that i had was the surrounding itself was to be very damp and wet. Wathala is known to be in the wet zone where there tends to be a lot of rain. Within ground level these people are prone to having their houses flooded by the rain. As a group what we strive to achieve is to bring aid to those who need it and this situation with the constant flooding made it critical  for assistance.

4 houses were looked at had all the same problems, they were built too low, their material was all ply wood and badly hammered nails that didn't give them much support or stability. The wood being the weakest aspect and the biggest problem of all, its all because when the rain starts to flood the wood becomes wet and soggy leading it to either break or start to fall out. Remember this is one of the wettest areas in Sri Lanka so these people who live here have to deal with rain fall almost every day. They didn't have kitchens, their bathrooms were just stone stacks in a squared shape to cover the view and their toilet is a hole in the ground. We produce resources for all these parts of a house but they cost separately for each part. The bathroom has its own price as does the kitchen and a single room. These people undergo several days of rain and have too much to worry about. Our collective ideas were to get the whole house reconstructed and made out of stone slabs and cement based floors.

 Food supply was also low within this village. As you can see in this picture with the pigs, its their food resource. Our school enables us to follow some of the IB learner profile methods with everything we do. As a group we take risks for the people who need the help and deserve a better life. Reconstructing houses is the best start because they need to be able to feel safe in the confines of their own living area and that is what we aim to do as a Service group. Change! people want it but not many can have it due to their economical problems. For people like this we do them a favour by giving them something, we have everything we need now its time to give something to those who need it.

• Food supply 
• Protection 
• Shelter