We have been renovating and building houses in Uganda for exactly one year to date and we have learned a lot. It’s funny when I recall the first thoughts I had when I was plunged into the world of slum living. I had seen the pictures of the mud huts, the cardboard or plastic bag houses on my T.V. and had pretty much prepared myself for what I might see. But as I mentioned to you before, I saw them on television, not smellovision. Sitting on my couch in Canada, I could not imagine the odours that would assault my nasal cavity very soon. Slinking down those narrow corridors of houses stacked almost on top of one another, that sweet smell of rotting garbage and sewage mixed with a dash of alcohol…..always the alcohol.   Actually, if you go to your garbage can right now, open it up and stick your head in there, take a deep whiff, you’ll get the gist of what I’m taking about. For the faint of heart, or faint of nose, let’s just say it’s a nasty place.

 

To be honest, I’ve seen worst slums on T.V. Uganda has enough natural clay to make bricks, and trees for timber for roofs that “most of” the poorest of the poor seem to find some sort of shelter. Now take note, I said “most of”. When I lived there full time, much of my days were spent travelling with the exceptions to the "most of" rule, learning their horrific stories that have lead them to these slums. Evictions, lack of money, death of husbands from AIDS, and displacement from war are just some of the stories we encounter. There are some good Ugandans who take single moms with their many kids in when these situations arise whether they have room or not. Some, because of lack of space can only lend a porch for them and their family to sleep on. This leaves some families out in the elements where mosquitoes will bite leading to life-threatening malaria or out where the drunk men that roam the slums can prey on them in the dark. For these ladies, slum living is physically dangerous. 

 

If there is any man with a family reading this, try to understand what this would be like. Can you imagine if something bad happened to you, and your wife and children were forced to live in these conditions?…I’m sorry for creating that image but I want you to know that a place like this actually exists. So now imagine the joy, the real beautiful joy that happens when a desperate lady is given a house. In their own words “this is a miracle, how can this be?” A dry house with windows and doors that lock, and secure walls, a place that is safe for them and their children. A place that is rent free which allows any income that they can scrape together to be spent on food and clothing. I have seen this miracle 51 times already, and I will never get tired of it. Even now while I write this we have a construction team working on three houses for just some of the many moms and children in terrible situations. Many of you have sacrificed to give the gift of a house, and I wish you could be there to see the tears of joy as they say thank you over and over again. Some of you have been very creative in organizing groups to raise money for houses. Some friends of ours had a garage sale and others donated items for it to raise money for a HIPPO house. On our last visit, we were able to build a house for a lady whose husband had just died, forcing her and her children onto the street. Now for some of you who don’t believe in miracles, try to convince this mother of that. 

 

We have moved our emphasis from fix-ups, as the 200 hundred children’s homes in our school have been visited and repaired, and we have moved to helping the homeless and their security issues. Our friend in Uganda, Wycliffe is currently compiling a list of mothers who need help. Being from the slums, he is very good at weeding out the scammers from those truly in need. As of now, I know of three houses we will be building on my next trip in November, along with five others in another poor village. There is no shortage of people to help.

 

So let’s talk business. When we first gave prices for houses, they were based on our “fix-up” pricing. For $200-250 Canadian, we could (for a lady with a house) give her a new roof, a new cement floor, repair any damage to walls and doors and supply mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets for the children. Our prices then increased a little bit as we moved on to building timber houses for the needy in areas where land could not be purchased because it was government land. Temporary housing had to be built in these areas, as they would not allow any permanent structures. After a year, of building houses our emphasis has changed to building permanent brick houses in areas that are not as congested. Our cost to build a larger 10’ X 12’ house  (size depends on number of occupents) is about $750 per house which includes purchasing a small plot of land in a better area, using all brick construction. Unfortunately anything steel such as the roof sheeting, spikes and nails has more than doubled since we began building greatly affecting our totals. We will continue to do “fix-up” houses as we come across them which will remain at $300 with the increase in material costs.

 

My main reason for switching to bricks is because of a young man that we met named Alex. About 15 years ago, an Italian couple went to Uganda on a missions trip and built a good sized, all-brick house for Alex and his mom and sister. When Alex’s mom passed away, it left him and his sister alone. With the mom gone they barely survived and of course couldn’t afford school fees for their education so Alex dropped out of school and found a job as a welder. He put his sister through school and learned his trade well so that 15 years later he now runs a very successful welding business out of the same house. This permanent brick house which could last as long as 50 years, built by a generous Italian couple who is nameless has kept Alex and his sister safe, together and self-sufficient. Alex’s house is just down the road from our school and we use him for all of our metal work. He built our water tower, our cooking pot stands and our compound gate.

 

I know that a lot of you who are reading this are wise investors and many of you have amazing stories of great investments that you have made over the years.  The investment in Alex’s house is by far one of the greatest investment stories I have ever heard. Please email karen@hippoafrica.com if you would like to contribute towards building a house in November, thank you sooooo much!

 

The picture is of Alex, notice the Home Depot coveralls.