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Improving Housing


Many people in the villages on the East Bank of the Nile in Minya live in unsafe and unhealthy houses. Since 1998 BLACD has been implementing projects to improve housing and the quality of life of the poor in these villages. So far improvements have been made to 600 houses; 400 new houses have been built in 6 villages.

Currently BLACD receives support from EFG-Hermes to help people in the village of Nazlet Hussein make improvements to their current houses or to build new ones.

  
 
  
 


Providing small loans for building and repairing houses

BLACD established a revolving fund from which beneficiaries can apply for a loan to improve their house. The maximum size of the loan is 6000 Egyptian Pounds (approximately US$ 1000). The actual size of the loan offered to beneficiaries is determined based on the cost of the repairs needed. BLACD makes designs to create good and healthy houses using local environmental building materials. Improvements made to houses include separating between stables and houses, arranging with clean potable water for drinking, installing latrines, constructing wooden and concrete ceilings and fixing doors and windows. 

BLACD trains local volunteers from the target communities to manage the project locally. Local building workers from the communities are hired to carry out the repair and construction work with the assistance of the owners of the houses and their neighbors in line with the social solidarity principle promoted to villagers through home visits. BLACD furthermore provides beneficiaries with information and skills to help them preserve and maintain their houses and keep them clean and healthy.

Raising awareness about housing rights

A second important aim of the project is to raise the awareness of beneficiaries of their legal right to own their land and their house. BLACD has prepared a poster about the legal rights of housing. BLACD has also organized meetings where beneficiaries can ask questions and receive answers about various legal aspects of housing.

Words of Beneficiaries

“We used to suffer a lot going back and forth to bring water to the house, but now we spend more time taking care of our children” A woman who received clean piped water to her house/

Water and Sanitation

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