ABDF

• Project Completed Update! (See below)
• Location: Valachenai, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka
• Recipients:1 ill widow
• Objective:Leak-proof roof
• Final cost:$190 US

Pilomena was babysitting her sister's toddler when ABDF visited her.

About a month ago, the ABDF Project Director received the following letter which, roughly translated from Tamil, reads:

Dear Sir,

I live at the above address. I am 47 years old, my parents and husband are dead. I live in a small house alone next door to my relations. I have no source of income. Frequently I get chest pains. The house which I live is in very poor condition. I have no money to replace the cadjans for the house. When it rains, I am unable to stay in the house. Please come and see the poor condition of my house and I request very politely for whatever help is possible. Thank you.

Yours,

Pilomena

It was forwarded to ABDF by Vive, our St. Vincent de Paul project partner. For an example of the kinds of work we do with SVP, check out ABDF's roofing project in Chenkalady.

It took a little effort to get things coordinated, but we recently went to Valachenai, about 35 km north of Batticaloa, to visit Pilomena. She wasn’t kidding about her house.

Pilomena’s cadjan house. That’s ABDF's local partner, Vive, to the left of Pilomena.

Pilomena lives in an old cadjan house directly on the sand; there is no floor to speak of. It is so low that one can barely upright inside. It’s constructed entirely of old tree branches that have been stripped down. The cadjan itself is old and badly needs replacing. It’s obvious that such a place is completely uninhabitable during the monsoon; it is barely so even when the weather is dry.

This close-up shows how Pilomena’s house is constructed, as well as the condition of the cadjan.

It turns out that the beams supporting the roof are inappropriate; they are dead branches incapable of supporting the weight of a tin roof. This means we’ll have to install 2x4s which can hold the weight. Pilomena’s house is built directly on the sand, meaning that we will also have to provide a concrete floor and wall posts to support the wooden posts supporting the tin. However, this is a good thing; it will keep Pilomena dry during the rainy season, and the wall posts will provide sturdier support for the cadjan walls. She will be able to stay in her house during the monsoon. To try to keep within project limits, we’ve agreed to only cement and roof Pilomena’s actual living quarters; for now the front room-cum-front porch will have to remain un-cemented and un-tinned.

View of the front door.

A glimpse of the interior of Pilomena’s house.

This is exactly the type of project ABDF was created for. The project itself is too small and a bunch of tin sheets certainly are not sexy enough for a larger aid agency to bother with. But yet the need is very real. This gap between what is needed and what is provided is very marked in Batticaloa, and ABDF was designed to help fill it. More often than not, these small needful projects are a bigger help to the recipients than some of the larger, more generalized projects supported by other groups.

Project Completed Update - August 23, 2009

Despite some delays, Pilomena now has a new roof over her head. The work was completed on Saturday, the 23rd of August, 2009. All that remains is for her and some neighbors to take the cadjan walls off the old house and put them on the new; which will be any day now. The one-room shelter is the same size as her previous home, but due to the tin roof, will be rain-proof during the rainy season. The concrete posts will give the structure stability and allow, some time in the future, for a cement floor and walls to be built.

Two views of Pilomena’s new roof.

It was hard to take good pictures due to all the foliage on her nice, shady property.

ABDF wishes to thank the Valachchenai chapter of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for bringing this project to our attention, and with their helping in getting it done.