UAE organisation building 1,000 houses for the homeless in Kerala

UAE-based Beit Al Rehima charity project is building around 1,000 houses for homeless people in the South Indian state of Kerala.

Speaking to Emirates 24|7, Ibrahim Ilayettil, General Secretary of Kerala Muslim Cultural Center (KMCC) UAE Committee, said Beit Al Rehima housing project has been taken up by the Muslim League with the support of KMCC UAE chapter and its various committees, members and sponsors.

“We have handed over about 200 homes to poor people in the Malappuram district of Kerala. I have taken personal initiative to provide 22 homes to poor people in my neighbourhood and five homes are being completed around my own house. I am personally involved in the project and would like to construct a home for at least one poor family in the Panchayat area,” he said.

Ilayettil has just moved into his new house that he built in Trichur Kerala and is now keenly following the five housing units that he is supporting in his neighbourhood.

Among the beneficiaries of the Beit al Rehima project includes a poor carpenter who helped build 1,500 homes for others, but he does not have his own home. Other beneficiaries are a person who survived a suicide attempt due to financial problems; and a 60-year-old old woman, Nafisa, who had been going around various government offices to apply for a free house.

The scheme was initially launched to provide at least one free home in each Panchayats of Malaappuram district, a Muslim pocket in the state.  The initiative is also seen as part of the campaign to improve the popularity of Muslim League, part of the United Democratic Front Government, that is currently ruling the state of Kerala.

Earlier, the Communist Party of India, Marxist, had launched a free housing scheme, EMS housing project, that helped many homeless residents in the state.

Anwar Naha, President of KMCC Dubai Unit, said: “KMCC has been actively involved in the Beit Al Rehima project and the initial plan was to construct a few hundred homes for the poor people in the Malappuram district of Kerala. Later the Kerala Muslim League took over and expanded the project to include all the 14 districts of the state. In the UAE, about 80 plus KMCC Mandalam Units, representing each electoral constituency, are directly involved in raising fund for the Beit Al Rahmat housing project in their respective constituencies.

He said keys for 220 houses built as part of the charity programme have already been handed over and work is progressing for another 300 new houses. The respective KMCC units are working to raise fund and offer other help to build another 500 homes for poor people.”

He said the beneficiaries are not just Muslim supporters of the political party or KMCC, but poor and distressed people from other communities too. He said there are over 50,000 registered members of KMCC UAE and out of that KMCC Dubai has around 20,000 members.

“Each of the 80 KMCC Mandalam Committee helps build two or three houses in their locality. Initial cost of a standard home, a hall, two bedrooms, kitchen, toilets and other facilities was Rs400,000 to Rs5,00,000 and due to escalating cost of construction, it has gone up to Rs7,00,000. Beit Al Rehima project will help build such houses for poor people who have their own plot of land,” Anwar added.

According to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, over 100 million people in the world do not have proper homes and according to an earlier estimate the number of homeless people in India are estimated at 78 million. With the escalating cost of land and construction materials and deteriorating economic conditions of the poor people, the number of homeless people have been on the rise across the world and such noble initiatives are needed to help the homeless, Anwar Naha added.
 

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