Home ›› 12 Dec 2022 ›› Back
Josna Ara Begum, 50, an elderly woman from Char Wapda union at Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali, was living an inhumane life with her sick son, son’s wife and granddaughter in a small makeshift home covered with tin and plastic. Having no bed, she used to spend the night on a makeshift bed of two chairs joined together.
But her days of sorrow came to an end after the country’s top industrial group PHP Family and South Korean company POSCO International Corporation came forward providing her with a 600 square feet newly constructed ‘dream home’.
PHP family and POSCO International authorities officially handed over the home to Josna on Sunday.
Not only Josna Begum, a total of five poor families including Mohammad Yusuf, Md Kamal, Yusuf and Nasir Uddin were provided with such homes. The PHP Family will hand over such home to 11 more families of Subarnachar upazila by March 2023.
The PHP Family has initiated this housing project for the impoverished and the poor being inspired by the government’s Ashrayan Project, a project initiated by the Prime Minister’s Office to build homes for homeless and displaced people.
POSCO International, a South Korean company engaged in resources development, project organisation and steel processing services, has partnered with the PHP Family to implement this pilot project, with an aim to provide 600 square feet homes – each with two rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom and a balcony – to 16 destitute families from Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali.
Josna Ara Begum, overwhelmed with emotion after getting the new home, said, “I had to spend my days in a lot of trouble along with my family members. When it rained, the whole family had to get wet. My sick son could not afford to build a new house and support the family.”
“PHP has given me a new home. It will surely benefit me a lot. I am grateful to them for that,” she said expressing her gratitude.
Nasir Uddin, a day labourer who also got a new house, said, “It was impossible for me to build a house as I barely live from hand to mouth. I never imagined that I would get such a house for free. Now I can spend my days comfortably with my children.”
Senior Executive Vice President of POSCO International Kye-In Lee, PHP Family Managing Director Mohammed Iqbal Hossain, head of commercial Ahsanul Alam, Executive Director of Noakhali Rural Development Society Abdul Awal, local Union Parishad Chairman Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, senior officials from POSCO International and PHP Family, local public representatives and administration officers were present at the house handing over ceremony.
At the event, Ahsanul Alam said, “We are helping the people, who have their own land but do not have the ability to build a house, to construct their homes. To ensure neutrality in selecting the poor families, we are working very closely with the local NGO Noakhali Rural Development Society.”
Informing that POSCO International will continue its mission in collaboration with PHP Family, he said, “In the first phase, five houses have been handed over today. Hopefully, 11 more houses would be handed over to the destitute families by March 2023.”
“The construction cost of each house is Tk 4.70 lakh. Building materials used in construction includes PHP Family’s colour-coated sheets. Each house has been built with the best materials in the market to ensure quality and sustainability,” Alam added.
PHP Family Managing Director Mohammad Iqbal Hossain said, “It is indeed a challenge for the government to single-handedly guarantee housing for all the citizens. Our initiative is a small example of how the private sector can play its part to overcome this problem. After all, owning a home of one’s own is a dream of every human being.”
At the end of the ceremony, keys of the houses were handed over to the owner of the households.
