Type

Construction of a Home

Budget

CHF 100’000

Status

In progress

Year

2017

The Residence:

Wild Flower is a home  in the region of Chiang Mai for young, single  mothers who have been rejected by their families after a rape or an unwanted pregnancy. The centre is managed by nuns, the Good Shepherd Sisters,, a community present in several places in Thailand and throughout the world. Thanks to the centre, young mothers can find serenity during their pregnancy, give birth to their child and continue at school or begin a vocational training. They can stay at the home  until they feel ready to face the world and be self sufficient. .

 

Present building:

This is a very light structure (straw walls and corrugated iron roof) housing a dozen young women and their babies. There is no privacy, and when a baby wakes up in the night, everyone is disturbed. The corrugated iron roof leads to overheating. There is no running water.

 

The project:

To replace the present building with a new, concrete structure with 2 storeys, and including 14 individual bedrooms with a small wash basin and toilet, and a shared area for washing the clothes of the young mothers and their babies.

The building work will be managed by an engineer who is well known to the J & O Foundation.

With the help of the Genevan association Courir pour aider, the construction work was completed and we were finally able to open the new building in summer 2019.    The house is home to around twenty mothers and their babies, who now have a pleasant and comfortable place to live.

 

Cost and funding:

The work has been estimated at 100 000 CHF, and if the required amounts are raised, should begin in winter 2017.

 

Objective:

The young mothers and their children will enjoy a little more comfort, even if their housing will still be rather rudimentary. They will have running water to change their babies in the night. They will enjoy levels of comfort, privacy and hygiene that are essential for a mother and her child.

The young women can begin their studies again or follow vocational  training, and their children will grow up in a serene atmosphere and be socialised in kindergarten.