HOME PROJECT FOR THE HOMELESS AND STREET BEGGARS
-Khoundkar Latifa Yasmin & Sheikh Anwar Ullah Khoundkar Aakash,
In the 3rd world countries there are many people living under poverty lines. Amongst them some are fortunate enough to have a home and a work for living. However many of these people are still homeless and are street beggars e.g. jobless.
A homeless family including women and children sleeping on highway footpath.
Homeless families including women, children, elderly and disabled people; living in concrete pipes made for drainage works.
The suffering of these homeless people increases badly in the winter when it's foggy all over an freezing cold outside.
A homeless little boy all crippled up by the horrible freezing cold of the winter.
Homeless mother with two little children sleeping on grass and sandy ground.
The sufferings also increase in rainy season when rain falls and in many places drains overflow.
Often we see in the streets that small children are running around dangerously and begging.
A child who herself is too young herself is caring for another baby. Often in the streets we see children too young to care for themselves carrying around another smaller child/baby and begging dangerously in the busy streets.
Growing up homeless in the streets these children not only doesn't get any education but also get involved in wrong things.
Very young children who got addicted to drugs. If shelter and proper education were given and cared well, children like these could actually have become valuable assets and human resources of the country.
There are campaigns every year about distributing blanketsand clothingfor these people, but has any one ever thought of giving them what is most important for them? A permanent home and a way of living!
These people need a permanent place to call it a home and also work to sustain themselves, at the same time they need education for their children.
This project will be created together by the government and the owners of industries and highest private companies(who are willing to contribute) and philanthropists, also people's donationsfor religious reasons (eg. Islamic Jakat, or donations from churches/temples and other institutions) will also be given for these project. This multistorey building will serve as a home for many homeless people. There will be solar panels fitted on the roof top, which will supply the people the electricity they need.
There will be spaces or yard in front of the building so they can make orchards and grow vegetables. Anything they grow will be sold in the market and the money they earn will betheir's to keep and buy their daily necessities. A very small percentageof the earned money can even be turned to government as tax.
Ground floor of this building shall have a garage, incase any of them wants to drive rickshaw or van for living, their rickshaw can be kept locked safe here.
The market again shall have a multistorey building and a yard. The building shall serve as market for selling their products and in the yard and in the ground floor may be used for poultry and dairy farming. The homeless people will be given the job to do these farming. Again what ever they produce eg. milk, eggs, shall be sold in market, and after deducting a very small percentage as tax the money will be given to these people so they can use it as their earnings. Dung from the dairy farm animals will also be used to produce bio gas.
Government ran school will be stablished for their children. This school will teach children handicraft works besides giving them proper education and religious and moral teachings. Sports will also be taught to the children. There will be library where students and everyone else will be able to read good quality books of all subjects. There will be regular fair at the school where children may sell their handmade handicraft works to people outside, also book fair will be held regularly so that the students will get access to new and good books. People from outside will also be allowed to visit the fair and the library, of course they'll have to buy tickets and id caRd and that money will go to the funds for the project and the people.
The school may occasionally be used as community centre. And may be used as prayer house as well. Government payed doctors and dentists may also visitregularly and use certain rooms in the school's building as clinic to give them medical aid.
Each floor of the residential building shall have multiple bedrooms with attached bathroom and balcony. Large kitchen with cooking and cleaning arrangements will be given. A large hall room with sections will be made where they can do indoor handicraft works eg. sewing, garments work, handmade jewellery, bags and accessories etc. Number of bedrooms and hall room sections given to each family will depend on family members.
Specialised pots may be used for roof top gardeningfor growing extra vegetables and/or flowers.
Special fish tank that resembles fishes natural habitat may be used to produce fishes as well. Special fish tanks built for indoors may also be used.
Battery cages may be used for ease of poultry and egg production and indoor farming.
Point: In many advanced countries, battery cages have been banned as are considered inhumane and abusive to the animals as these cages are sometimes small and each hen doesn't have enough space and it's too many animals in small sickening cages. Tomake it more humane there shall be enough space for each chicken to walk around. Each cage for individual chicken shall be wide enough, high enough and large enough for the chicken to walk around freely. And occasionally chickens may also be let out to walk around the fields. As these may reduce the number of chickens that could be raised per unit area, but it will be more humane.
Regular health check up for farm and poultry animals and also fishes will be done by the government agencies.
A few days ago,
I saw a man begging in the streets. Had a broken leg and was driving a handpaddled powered three wheeler just like these. The vehicle is kinda like a modified tricycle with the paddles fitted for the hands/hand. Now I don't know if that is a common vehicle but imagine ....
If this was fitted with a basket in the front of the seats and/or at the side then this vehicle can actually be used to deliver mail, newspapers and medicine and can also be used as a mini substitute for vans and can be used to sell/deliver vegetables/fishes/eggs/milks like hawkers do.
If street beggars and homeless people are permanently settled and are given work they'll actually become productive for the country and be valuable assets and even the government can get taxes from their productions.
