An apartment is more than protection from the weather. Home means security and is also important for mental health. But the poorest families in Ethiopia do not live decently. What can we do?
Renovating and building is expensive. Anyone who wants a new kitchen estimates costs of at least 20,000 francs. According to Handelszeitung, a new single-family home in Switzerland costs on average around 750,000 francs.
In Ethiopia, on the other hand, Menschen für Menschen can create living space for an entire family for just 2,000 francs - and ensure that children grow up with dignity.
We help the poorest families with household goods such as tea kettles, plates and even furniture: tables made on site so that the children can do homework; simple beds so that they no longer sleep on the bare ground.
In particularly bad cases, families live in tiny shacks made of scrap wood and plastic sheeting. Then we try to make a move possible: Our foundation builds simple terraced houses for mostly single mothers whose husbands have died or have abandoned their families.
The apartments are built according to local standards with mud walls and covered with tin roofs. The window frames and doors are produced by local craftsmen.
Two rooms are provided per family. Mothers usually cry with happiness when they move in and can offer their children a real home for the first time in their lives.
Living space per capita continues to rise in Switzerland. In Ethiopia, on the other hand, three out of four city dwellers live in slums - in very crowded conditions. The apartments in the slums of Addis Ababa measure on average 24 square meters. On average, six people live there.
"Home! It's the sweetest word the language has."
Ten people live and sleep in this low room of a slum house in Addis Ababa: Rahel Tekle, 28, has two daughters: Afomia, ten months old (pictured) and Zenat, 10. At night they share the mattress with Rahel's parents, her brother, her niece, her sister and her two children. Rahel has just completed her training as a housekeeper at Mensch für Mensch: now she has the chance to get a good job - and to move into her own room.
Safety for 292 children
In the city of Debre Berhan, Menschen für Menschen built 24 simple social housing units with walls made of clay and roofs made of sheet metal last year. Parents with a total of 27 boys and 27 girls have found a home there. In total, the foundation has so far completed 151 apartments for particularly poor families in the city. 153 girls and 139 boys are growing up in a humane manner in these apartments. This year, apartments will be built for 66 more families.
Reading tip
In the night shelters in Addis Ababa, a place to sleep costs 70 centimes per night. Guests often lie body to body with a dozen strangers. Jemila also spends the night there with her triplets in a tiny cabin...
Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more about how we create homes for the poorest families? Call us (Tel. 043 499 10 60) or write to us (info@mfm.ch)!
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