Last year Etex teamed up with two NGO’s, SELAVIP and SpringAid International Development, to contribute to the ‘Housing the poor for full & healthy family life’ project, focused on social housing in the city of Owerri in Southeast Nigeria. The goal is to construct houses for 32 extremely poor, vulnerable urban families living in precarious, deplorable, unsafe accommodation.
Some 124 people stand to benefit from these efforts, with the families themselves playing an active role in project planning. Eight blocks of housing covering 730 m2 will be built, one unit consisting of four apartments of 91 m2 with an average of three rooms each. The project will also serve to make the plight of these households visible to authorities and local communities. By highlighting the right to housing and a healthy environment, and ensuring these are central issues in national debates, poor communities will be aware of their rights. This critical social project is an example of how it is possible to create access to housing for the poor, and how, together, communities, companies and social organisations can make a tangible difference in bringing people together.
In 2021, in spite of COVID, SpringAid International managed to progress with the construction of all the houses (more than 30% of all buildings) and is planning to conclude the project by the end of 2022.
