A partnership between a UK university and property consultancy celebrated the creation of new homes in Gujarat through fundraising and staff and student participation.
De Montfort University in Leicester (DMU) tied up with local construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard for its Square Mile India project to provide 50 new homes for the Loving Community, on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The community is populated by more than 430 residents, 40 of which are former leprosy sufferers.
Working with the Loving Community' has not only been transformational for the families involved but also our architecture students, Mark Charlton, associate head of public engagement at the university, said last week to mark a year since the project began.
"The homes are funded through support from Pick Everard and contributions from DMU staff and students, as well as the local community in Leicester and we are thrilled with the positive impact that this collaboration has brought to the Loving Community', he said.
Due to poor infrastructure and local topography, the community is prone to flooding during the monsoon period and many people have to leave their homes as they become uninhabitable.
Since February last year, DMU's School of Architecture has been working in collaboration with architect Anand Sonecha to develop designs to raise the homes above flood level. Construction began in April 2018, with the cost of the works being met by fundraising.
Each house costs approximately 5,000 pounds and the designs include the potential to be enhanced further when funding is available to families, the university said.
"An architect's job is to design buildings and create the physical environment in which people live. But the most successful architecture goes beyond building four walls it changes people's lives, and this project reflects that, said Nish Tailor, an architectural assistant at Pick Everard, who has been helping the students project-manage the building work.
The Loving Community' residents had to fend for themselves after being outcast by society more than 40 years ago. Despite no longer being contagious due to the disease being treated, the stigma surrounding leprosy is so strong that they are still not welcome in their native villages, Tailor said.
The homes are funded through support from Pick Everard and contributions from DMU staff and students, as well as the local community in Leicester a city with a significant Gujarati-origin population.
Paul Rothera, national director at Pick Everard, said: The development of the new houses has been tremendous. There are no shortcuts in the construction and the quality is superb.
Among the first residents to benefit were widow Narshama Bhan and daughter Akshera, who are relieved that the new homes will not flood, have light and space and even their own courtyard area, the university said.
Speaking through an interpreter, Narshama said: Before I was so fed up and tired and every monsoon it was a very bad and unhealthy situation for all of us.
I never had a thought, or even a dream that I would be living in such a nice home. I thank the Lord that finally I have a nice home.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content