2,000 disabled families will become homeowners by September next year
Social group – Fars News Agency – Soodabeh Ranjbar: During these years, the Foundation for the Underprivileged has accepted the responsibility of supporting and implementing a part of this project together with the Welfare Organization of the country. In order to get answers to our questions and to know more details about how this memorandum will be implemented, we have arranged a meeting with “Vahid Khawi”, the deprivation representative of the Foundation for the Oppressed and the CEO of the Alavi Foundation in the country.
We met him in his office. Pictures of the faces of the deprived of society while smiling are framed on the wall of his office. Pictures that show deprivation on the sunburned faces of women, children and old men nearby, but the main feature of all the pictures on the wall is the smile and love that comes out of each frame of the picture. Although the photos do not have any identity card, “Vahid Khawi” has the mood and identity of the photos in his memory. “These photos belong to the southern cities of Kerman,” he says. “The image of these loved ones must be in front of our eyes because society is our target and we are responsible for all of them.” Among all the photos, there is a picture of several elementary school children passing through a snow tunnel. A photo frame nailed to the wall nails every viewer in place. “This photo is from a village in East Azerbaijan,” Khawi said. The children are crossing a snow tunnel that the school teacher dug for them so they can get to school. “This elementary school teacher is the teacher of us all.”
Q: Is it the first time that these 4,000 families with 2 or more disabilities become homeowners in the Foundation for the Underprivileged?
This program has already been implemented in the Alavi Foundation complex, because its specially defined task is to empower the deprived, and in the past, a housing unit has been provided for these families. In the first phase of this project, about 14,000 families with 2 or more disabilities were introduced to us by the Welfare Organization to become homeowners.
* Are all of these families already introduced homeowners now?
Of these, more than 12,000 have received their homes, but about 2,000 are in the final stages of receiving their homes, and unfortunately we have not yet been able to hand over the keys to their homes. Of course, with the follow-up that is being done, the problems that have arisen in the delivery of these residential houses will soon be solved.
* What problems have there been in delivering the residential houses of 2,000 families of the Welfare Organization?
Be careful, it is not like we are building a housing complex for the deprived or a housing complex for the disabled and saying, “Come on, your houses are ready.” In order to maintain the respect and dignity of the people for whom a house is to be built, we may purchase several units for these loved ones in a normal housing project under construction, and it is planned that by the end of the project we will represent families so that none of Neighbors should not realize that this unit is provided by the Foundation for the Underprivileged for deprived families. After the project is completed, we invite the families to take over their house.
Unfortunately, due to the economic problems of the country and the stagnation of the housing sector, etc., problems have arisen in the construction and completion of some housing projects, and its completion and delivery has been delayed. Just like the problems that have occurred in some Mehr housing projects.
* When will these 2,000 families be able to live in their homes, and what are your plans for the 4,000 other families with multiple disabilities who are now in the process of becoming homeowners?
These 2,300 families will receive their homes by September next year, but we have provided more facilities for the 4,000 families that the Welfare Organization has recently introduced to us, so that with this amount and due to the increase in construction prices, it will be easier for the owner to take shelter. To be. We will try to make these families less concerned about their families, apart from the problems of caring for their disabled loved ones, and not to be bothered by the lack of shelter for this range of families. The price of construction has risen, the payment to these families for housekeeping has increased. 100 million Tomans will be paid for the purchase of rural units and 150 million Tomans for urban residential units. This is while previously for 14,300 families, the length of each rural unit was paid 50 million Tomans and the length of each urban unit was 84 million Tomans. Of course, in addition to this amount, mortgages are also given to these loved ones.
* You agree that the figure is not significant and this is while now to buy a Mehr housing unit on the outskirts of Tehran must spend at least 800 million tomans.
Yes, that’s right you can now become known as a Lord of the Rings. In the housing of these families introduced by the Welfare Organization, you should consider the price of land as zero. Of course, the cost of building Mehr housing in Tehran is higher than other cities.
* How does the price of land become zero?
The process of purchasing housing for families with two or more disabilities is such that the Foundation for the Underprivileged is not responsible for providing land, and the Welfare Organization submits its request to the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development to provide land for housing units. It has the authority to determine what land it provides to welfare for free. From here, the responsibility of the Foundation for the Underprivileged begins in the housing construction process. Of course, as I said, families are given free loans, and they themselves have to pay the installments after receiving the mortgage. Unfortunately, this perspective often causes us to become overwhelmed when it’s time to start a new home. For this reason, we invite the benefactors, families and relatives of these loved ones to accompany and assist these families with disabilities in becoming homeowners.
* As a result, the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development will provide land to the Welfare Organization to build housing for the disabled and deprived, will not the formation of special complexes for the disabled or deprived be formed?
As soon as we sign a memorandum of understanding with Welfare and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development for the construction of residential units, we record our considerations in this memorandum. Of course, there are always exceptions, for example, if we build one or more houses together in a village or in an area, everyone will be informed. These events are not hidden in small communities. Some people do not even want to leave their village, but we also do not insist because new margins are created; Like population displacement that is not covered in this article. By knowing the locals and being aware of each other’s micro-major problems, everyone knows who this house is for. And through what organization or body it was created. For all our consideration in preserving human dignity, there are no conditions for concealment in some cases. Even in small areas, everyone is involved in building the roof and walls of a house, and the rest of the people in the area are participating. Even now, many families with multiple disabilities live in difficult conditions, and the cost of treatment puts so much pressure on them that they themselves have turned to local charities. In general, the case of the problems of these loved ones is open and is not hidden from any of their friends and acquaintances, we are just trying to become landlords and not be harmed any more. The biographies and problems of these loved ones can only be understood if we live with them for at least one day and night.
* With the explanations that you provided in the construction costs of a residential unit, what is the approximate cost of building a residential unit for these people in the current conditions?
In the memorandum, the area provided for the housing of each family with two disabilities and above is about 70 square meters, and if we want to consider the construction cost floor, it will cost about 5 million tomans per square meter. Based on this, the construction cost of each unit is estimated at about 350 million Tomans. Considering grants and mortgages, we definitely need the support and support of charities in the implementation of this project in order to relieve the burden from families.
* Given that the conditions of these families are different. The houses of these people should also be different. Has this been seen in the construction of residential units?
Unfortunately, the situation of these families is so different from other sections of society that economic shocks do not shake the lives of these loved ones, but ruin their lives. Finding a new home is very difficult for a tenant family with a disability, especially if the family has a disabled member or a mentally ill person, and that is when the problem multiplies. Keep in mind that 95% of families with 2 or more disabled people are struggling with complex economic problems and are in fact a community in need of all-round assistance. Of course, we have nothing to do with identifying them, and the welfare organization introduces these loved ones to us. After identifying the Foundation for the Underprivileged, it puts its facilities next to the welfare facilities and a synergy is done to solve the problem. After providing the land, in many cases, we select several residential units in a complex for these loved ones and pay the construction cost and know that the living space of these people has its own characteristics. For example, if the minimum house area for a disabled family is a certain amount, this area will be larger for a family with 2 disabilities. Because they need space to move. Sometimes these loved ones use wheelchairs, and we must consider this issue in the size of the bathroom, and the door and the size of the bathroom must be larger so that the disabled person can easily enter the bathroom and toilet in a wheelchair. Another example is that these houses must have elevators, and even the presence of three steps at the entrance of the building makes them problematic. In general, I must say that the cost of building a house for these loved ones is higher than other deprived people in the society due to the need to observe the principles of adaptation. Accordingly, the Foundation for the Underprivileged has implemented programs from previous years that, in addition to providing free loans, have asked other agencies to help build houses for these people so that they can become homeowners more easily by reducing costs. For example, municipalities do not charge a fee for the construction of these units. With these descriptions, families with two or more disabilities still have difficulty in providing the minimum, and the bigger problem is that land is not available in the big cities and Tehran, and most of these houses are built on the outskirts of cities.
* Alavi Foundation only participates in providing a housing unit for this family. Does Yad also take measures in the field of empowerment of these loved ones?
You see, from the very beginning, the foundation of the oppressed has been to help these families to empower these sections of society. Now empowering these loved ones has different angles. After entering people’s houses, we realized that in addition to not having much income. Even their costs are many times higher than other healthy families. They have no assets. So that some families have split into two to make a living. The mother of the family has taken refuge in the father’s house with a disabled child, and the father of the family has gone to the house of the brother or father with another disabled person. Practically, due to poverty, problems and family treatment costs have collapsed. Employment should have been created for these loved ones as well.
Unfortunately, the costs of treating these disabled people are so high that they cannot afford to buy a house even with the creation of employment, although now the situation is such that a physically healthy family can hardly think about becoming a housewife. The idea that in addition to helping these families generate income, they also help increase their assets, which led us to enter the process of providing housing for these families.
* Do you think that by creating a good job and providing a decent income, these disabled people and their families can manage their own lives?
This is a lot of questions, but I say again, you have to live with these families to realize how high the cost of living for these loved ones is. They are so far removed from their possessions that they cannot easily become homeowners. Note that these disabled loved ones have unstable jobs because they find a job later than others and lose their jobs sooner than others. Even the cost of their job is high, you ask? These people, like the rest of society, cannot use public transportation and the subway. The cost of transportation for these people is very high. Under these conditions, job opportunities are taken away from these disabled people. The cost of treatment and rehabilitation of these loved ones is another serious issue. With all these obstacles and problems, I believe that with the will of these disabled people and the patience of their families and, of course, the performance of duties by the responsible agencies, the process of empowering these disabled people is possible.
* As a final question, you who are in contact with the families of these loved ones and considering the problems they have, what is the first step to help these loved ones?
We must respect these families and work hard to make them housewives. In all these years that we have tried to solve the housing problem of these loved ones, I have found that these people are so patient, grateful and unexpected that they are grateful and appreciative with a greeting, attention and hearing of the problems.
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