Former US President Jimmy Carter has lent his name and skills to a project that brings affordable housing to thousands of impoverished families
- Published: 22/11/2009 at 12:00 AM
Life has always been tough for Chunkum Duangtip. He's had very little education and work has been a series of low-paying jobs in his hometown in the Hot district of Chiang Mai. About 15 years ago Mr Chunkum, now 37, and his wife Kamnoi, 48, moved to Chiang Mai in search of a better future. But that plan just didn't work out.
Until last week, the couple and their three children lived in a small room provided by the large pig farm where they work - amid all the unpleasant smells, a large number of flies and other health risks.
Their joint income of 8,500 baht a month meant they could not afford their own home - and any prospects for ever having one were dim. But last week he not only moved into his own home, but now has a very special connection no other Thai can claim - that former US President Jimmy Carter helped him build his home, house No 40, virtually brick by brick.
The dream that had seemed so unob-tainable became reality when Ms Kamnoi was encouraged to apply for a home under a programme that aims to provide affordable housing for the poor, managed by Habitat for Humanity. The connection with Mr Carter is through the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which has supported and worked with Habitat for Humanity since 1984. Mr Carter and his wife Rosalynn promote the organisation's objectives all year round and also spend one week of their time each year helping to build homes.
Last week the Carters and about 3,000 other volunteers from 25 countries started building homes for 82 Thai families in Ban Nong Kon Kru in San Sai district. They started last Monday and completed the homes on Friday. Another 84 will be built in Vietnam, China, Cambodia and Laos, and Habitat for Humanity has set an ambitious goal of building 50,000 homes in the Mekong region over the next five years.
But for Mr Chunkum and other residents, No40 will always be special.
"When I was told that the former US president would help build my house I was very excited. I felt numb and didn't know what to think. I didn't know who he was or what he looked like. I was just happy to be getting a home. My wife and I couldn't sleep the night before we saw him for the first time, at a function organised by Habitat before the building started,'' Mr Chunkum said.
''Before that, I had no interest in, and didn't know anything about the United States. But now somehow I feel indebted to the US. How will I repay this debt? I don't know, but if I see a foreigner or an American in Chiang Mai, if they have a problem I will help them _ this is the best I can do for the moment,'' he said.
Mr Chunkum believes his house was selected to be built by the former US president ''because my family was probably the poorest of the 82 families''. But this wasn't actually the case. His home was chosen because the US Secret Service felt it was the safest location for Mr Carter to work for security reasons. Once the final 82 families were selected, they were allocated homes through a lucky draw. And so finally, after decades of hardship, luck smiled on Mr Chunkum.
At one point, as they worked alongside each other in the sweltering heat _ with other volunteers including Chinese actor Jet Li and US ambassador to Thailand Eric G John _ Mr Carter spoke to Mr Chunkum, who nodded as if he understood what was said.
''I didn't understand a word he said to me,'' Mr Chunkum admitted. But that did not matter to the former US president or the Thai pig farmer, as both knew exactly what the programme was intended to achieve.
''I like this project because it's not free,'' said Mr Chunkum, adding that selecting the final 82 home owners from the hundreds of applicants was not easy. ''Each applicant was expected to turn up at the site and put in about 400 hours of labour. Everyone had to work. We even made the bricks used for building the homes.
''Of the 400 applicants, many did not pass this requirement. Some came for a day or so and never came back. But I really wanted this and I had to help others too. The whole process lasted two months _ working from 8am to 4pm. I had to get permission from my employer, who fortunately agreed. I helped other people who were sick or needed help to make up their 400 hours,'' he said.
Each home costs about 185,000 baht, and all successful applicants had to make an initial 30,000 baht down payment. They can pay this in installments, and the money collected is used to pay for the installation of water and electricity. Some paid 500 baht a month, others more. The balance can be paid off over 10 or 15 years, with most of the homeowners choosing to do so over 10 years. ''This process makes us feel the home is really ours, that we are part of it and that we need to care for the project,'' said Mr Chunkum, adding that as home owners repay their loans, the funds are used to start other Habitat projects, helping other needy families.
Dignity and self-respect are crucial, said the former US leader during a discussion with Spectrum and selected journalists. ''When you have rich people on the one hand, and those in need on the other, it is very challenging to find a way to help without being superior or making the poor lose self respect. So I think Habitat for Humanity is the best organisation in the world that lets the home owners and volunteers work side by side with mutual respect on an equal basis.''
Mr Carter also said that because home owners must put in hours of effort beforehand _ called ''sweat equity'' _ plus pay the full cost of their home in installments, at low or zero interest, the home owners can ''share the excitement of building their house within a week''. Gratification also spreads to the volunteers, who pay their own way to each build site. Apart from bridging the barrier between rich and poor, Mr Carter believes that the volunteers benefit more. ''The volunteers consider this an honour [to work with the home owners] _ we come out ahead.''
The fact that Habitat is building a home every 19 minutes across the world shows the rapid progress of the concept of Habitat, Mr Carter added.
''When people see what can be done for people who have never had the chance of a decent home, and that they not only pay for their house, but they also almost always look after their house.
''I have never gone back to a Habitat project and seen a house run down, or the windows broken or graffiti on the walls. People are proud of it [their home], and this sets an example for improved housing on a much larger scale. We have advocated this approach to a number of governments.
''In some countries, providing housing based on the Habitat model has been adopted. If a family wants to construct their own house the government will furnish them with concrete blocks and bricks. Some 20 or 30 families will get to build their own house, with one experienced builder moving around to help and teach them how to lay the foundations, build walls and charge for the building materials at a very low interest rate. We've tried to get governments to do this on a large scale.''
But how does spending a week each year since 1984 helping needy families build their own home compare to what he achieved during his presidency? ''I can't compare them,'' the Nobel Peace Prize laureate said.
''I worked out a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. I normalised diplomatic relations with China. It probably changed the political situation throughout the world. And I was able to do other things of a peaceful nature _ the Carter Centre, where I work, has programmes in 70 nations.
''We try to do away with diseases that are not known in rich countries. The World Health Organisation calls them 'neglected diseases'. Very soon we will have eradicated Guinea worm from the face of the earth. There were 3.6 million cases in 20 countries and now we only have 3,000 cases in the whole world. This is the second disease in history where a disease has been eradicated. The first was smallpox, 32 years ago.''
The Carter Centre also conducts what he described as ''honest elections''.
''The centre conducted the first democratic elections in Indonesia, and to date have been involved in 77 elections. If the Carter Centre did not do it, the chances are these people would not have elections. Those are the things I have been doing since I was president, but I don't know how to compare [them with building homes].'' But he did conclude: ''Building homes alongside a family that is in need is just as satisfying as bringing peace.''
Despite all the homes Mr Carter has been involved in building, he always tries to revisit each project, and of course, the house he help to build. ''We try to go back whenever we visit a country, and whenever possible we go back to the Habitat project we helped build just to let the people know that we care for them and to see how a decent home changed their lives forever. I hope this happens here [in Chiang Mai],'' he said.
No one knows when Mr Carter will revisit Chiang Mai. But when he does, he will certainly visit the Habitat project in San Sai, and in particular No40. There he will find Mr Chunkum and his family, who expressed their sentiments and pride in very simple terms: ''We had no home, but we always dreamed of having one. You don't know what it is like not to have your own home. I had a wife and three children but no home. Now I have a house. It's a feeling you can't express. When I walk into my home, I can say: 'These are my stairs, this is my home and this is my land.'''
Fact Box
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INTERNATIONAL
Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976, with the intention of providing decent housing for those that otherwise could not afford it.
To date, it has built or renovated 300,000 homes, providing housing for 1.5 million people in six continents. Many of these families helped build their homes, and are buying them with the help of zero interest rate mortgages.
Habitat for Humanity International started operating in the Asia-Pacific region in 1983, and has built or renovated 86,000 homes for 430,000 people (as of June 2009). In 2009 alone (up to June), assistance has been given to 27,600 families in the region, and the organisation aims to build 50,000 homes in the Mekong region over the next five years.
For more information, visit http://www.habitat.org or email publicinfo@habitat.org.
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY THAILAND
Habitat for Humanity Thailand was founded in 1998, and since then has provided 5,000 homes for 25,000 Thais in 23 provinces, from Chiang Rai in the North, to Udon Thani in the Northeast, Krabi in the South and Bangkok.
Between now and 2011, it plans to build 5,000 homes and expand its work into more provinces.
For more information, visit http://www.habitatthailand.org or email habitat@habitatthailand.org.
HABITAT'S PRINCIPLES
Habitat houses are sold to partner families for no profit. Families pay through affordable, zero interest, inflation-adjusted mortgages, with monthly payments going into a fund to be used to build more Habitat homes.
Habitat is not a charity programme - families who benefit must invest hundreds of hours of labour, known as "sweat equity", in building homes for themselves and others.
THE JIMMY AND ROSALYNN CARTER WORK PROJECT
In 1984, the seeds of the Work Project were sown when ex-US President Jimmy Carter worked on his first Habitat site, in the southern US state of Georgia.
Over the past 25 years, the Carters have donated a week of their time each year to lead their Work Project volunteers in working with Habitat to build homes.
As well as in the US, the Carters and their volunteers have built homes in Mexico, Canada, Hungary, the Philippines, South Korea (in the demilitarised zone), South Africa and India.
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