Home ›› 07 Apr 2023 ›› News
Aleya Begum, 50, has been struggling to meet the basic needs of life with her only daughter Jasmine Akhtar since her husband died 22 years ago. She could not sleep soundly at night as rainwater leaked through the thatched roof of the makeshift hut she had been living in for years. Even she did not have the ability to repair it as she barely lived from hand to mouth.
Aleya, who became destitute after the death of her husband, had to take out a loan from an NGO as she had no other means of income. But with the little income the mother and daughter earned from making various handicrafts, they could hardly pay the installments of the loan after meeting their daily needs. As a result, they had to live in the dilapidated hut.
But just two months ago, Aleya’s fortune turned around when her struggling life attracted the attention of the PHP Family and Posco International. A pucca house has been built on the small piece of land she obtained from the government. Although Aleya Begum could not believe it at first, now she is living with her daughter in the dream house built at number-4 Char Wapda union of Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali.
“We, mother and daughter, never imagined that we would get a pucca house. At a time when no one ever tries to feel the misery of a helpless human being, getting a pucca house is nothing but a dream,” Aleya Begum told The Business Post with tears in her eyes.
Her daughter Jasmine who was sitting next to her hugged the mother. Asked why she is crying even after getting a brick-built house, Aleya said with a smile that it is a cry of happiness. “There is happiness in these tears. Tears have come to my eyes as I am overwhelmed with happiness,” she added.
Jyotsna Begum, 55, another poor woman from the same area, also got a new house. She is now living with three children in the new house. She runs the family by making and selling prayer and other mats.
Muhammad Shahidullah, 45, of the same area has also got a pucca house built by PHP Family and POSCO International. He said that he was injured in the spine while cutting coconuts from the tree. Since then, he has lost the ability to work. Barely maintaining his family of two girls and a boy with the help of the locals, he did not have the ability to repair his house which was damaged by the flood. Now he is happy to have a new house with a corrugated sheet roof.
Recently, with the efforts of Bangladesh’s top business conglomerate PHP Family Managing Director Mohammed Iqbal Hossain, South Korean company POSCO International and PHP Family jointly constructed 11 pucca houses at No-4 Char Wapda union of Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali and handed those over to 11 poor families of the area on April 6 last.
The 600-square-foot houses have been made of steel, concrete, and coloured corrugated sheets. Each of the houses has two bedrooms, a living room in the middle, a front porch, and a bathroom. In addition, there is a kitchen attached to the house.
PHP Family and POSCO International have built houses for 11 families who have their own land but cannot afford to build houses due to poverty. The cost of constructing each house is Tk 470,000. PHP’s coloured corrugated iron sheets have been used in the construction of houses to ensure quality and durability.
Earlier in December last, five houses were constructed and handed over to five poor families in the same area.
Managing Director of PHP Family Mohammed Iqbal Hossain said, “Vice President of POSCO and I visited the area. We were disappointed by the plight of the people there. Therefore, from humanitarian considerations, we decided to build houses gradually for the residents of this char. Now with the help of POSCO, we have made 11 pucca houses and handed those over to the residents. I and my PHP family are fortunate and happy to have the opportunity to do something for the underprivileged people of the char.”
He said, “It is difficult for the government alone to ensure the housing of poor people across the country. So, we have taken this initiative to help the government. PHP Family Chairman Sufi Mohammad Mizanur Rahman loves to serve the needy people of society. In continuation of that, we made houses for the poor in Subarnachar and handed over the houses.”
In a message sent from POSCO International headquarters in South Korea, Daniel Lee said, “We look forward to continuing this initiative with our valued and strategic partner PHP family. We want to improve our level of activity in building new steel houses in the near future. I wish all the best to the families who have received the new steel houses. I express my sincere gratitude to Iqbal Hossain of the PHP Family.”
PHP Family Managing Director Mohammed Iqbal Hossain, Executive Vice President of POSCO International Kim Sang Chul, Head of Commercials of POSCO-Bangladesh Ahasanul Alam, Senior Manager Daniel Lee, Country Manager SJ Kang, Noakhali Rural Development Society Executive Director Abdul Awal, No-4 Wapda union Chairman Abdul Mannan Bhuiya and recipients of the houses were present at the house handover ceremony.
