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| UK Charity Commission Registration Number 1120536 - Egyptian Charity Number - Luxor 8 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Please scroll down the page to read our project updates | |||||||||||||||||||
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Project
Cancer |
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December 2011 |
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The global recession bit into our funding quite hard during 2011 and funding fell as demands on Little Stars grew following the hardships caused by the downturn in tourism which accounts for most of the income in Luxor. Our families are not directly involved in tourism but the difficulties filter through the entire community. This has meant that although we have still been able to undertake building work and improvements in family homes most of these have been directly funded by family sponsors rather than coming from the general fund. Roofs have been replaced, floors laid and doors added to many houses in Haja Marise and Nage Birka. From the general fund we were able to completely rebuild a house in Tarif that had been in danger of collapse for some time. The house fronted a tomb which was where cooking was done and children slept. The tomb was cold and damp and their health was suffering. The old house was completely demolished and the family went to live with neighbours while the work was done. They were so eager to move in that they did so while work was still ongoing. Now for the first time they have an internal toilet and washing facilities. Their space has also been doubled as they are now able to utilise the space on the flat roof. This was possible only due to the generosity of our supporters. The total cost was in the region of £600 which was our largest project but it was money well spent as there are five children who now have a healthier environment. |
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| The old house fronted a tomb. The new house is clean, solid and has internal plumbing. | |||||||||||||||||||
Another major project was completed in Haja Marise and this was funded by a family sponsor. The family had been abandoned by the father and left living in one room in a relative's house. There was a brick built structure which consisted of just the outer wall and an internal wall which divided the 'house' into two rooms. There was no roof, doors or solid floors. There was also no water or electricity. The first job to be done was to raise the walls to enable to roof to be added. The roof was constructed of split palm trunks and reed. Next the floors were laid and the family covered all the walls in mud so that they were smooth and there was no place for scorpions to hide. Doors were then added for safety and privacy. The family moved in immediately the floor was dry even though there was no electricity, lights, or water. The structure is now complete and connecting electricity is now in hand.These are small things compared with what needs to be done but they make such a difference to the lives of those concerned. From five people sleeping on the floor of a very small room they now have a crude but solid home that they can call their own. |
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| The walls were built up - the roof was put on - the floors were put in - and the family moved in straight away. | |||||||||||||||||||
The house shown below is in the village of Marise which is south of the bridge and a long way from Haja Marise. The family consists of a mother, father and four children who all lived in a small mud brick house at the side of a canal. Unfortunately the mother had a major brain haemmorhage which left her unable to care for her family. Consequently the eldest girl in the family left school and took on the task of caring for everyone. The living condition were very primitive and their sponsor has provided funds to add another room, with electricity and a fan. During December a toilet is being dug so that for the first time the family will have sanitation and no longer have a 'bucket and chuck it' type of existence. Again this would not have been possible without the kindness of their sponsors. |
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| A new solidly built room was added to the rear of the old house and sanitation is being installed for the first time. | |||||||||||||||||||
None of this could be done without your support.
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August 2010 Following the spring gales, the roofs of many houses were blown away and a house in Nage Birka collapsed leaving a widow and her three small children homeless. With the help of Little Stars this house was rebuilt, a roof added, solid floors installed and a supply of electricity connected. During August, windows and internal doors were added. The family has now settled back into their new home which provides a basic but safer environment for the children than the old house did.
The gales caused more havoc than was originally estimated and soon another house collapsed destroying what little goods a widow and her two children had. She took refuge next door where they all sleep on the bare floor. Little Stars, with immense help from their sponsors, has rebuilt the house, added a roof and is now working on the floors and the electricity supply. Water will be piped and an external long-drop toilet added as soon as it is feasible. Then we will begin the process of trying to get her some furniture to replace that destroyed in the collapse. Through an interpreter she expressed her heart-felt gratitude to all those people who made it possible for her to again have a home again.
February 2010 Major work was carried out on two homes during February: one at Nage Birka and one at Haja Marise. The work was funded by one of our supporters who is a family sponsor. Two more donations have been received to cover renovations of homes in Haja Marise which is one of the poorest villages on the west bank. A general report on the progress of the renovations is given in our February Newsletter and more detailed reports can be seen through the following links. HAJA MARISE ...................................... NAGE BIRKA
January 2010 Work has been progressing with improvements to homes throughout the final months of 2009. In January 2010 we were given a donation by one of our sponsors to make improvements to two houses in out scheme. The first was to be her own family but the second was to be of our choice. We chose what we thought was our 'worst case' which was a family home in Haja Marise. The mud floors and roofs of these homes are being replaced and a toilet is being installed in one home. It is impossible in the second home as there is no water supply.
September 2009 Since the beginning of the year, Little Stars has bought almost 100 beds and mattresses for families where children were sleeping on the floor and were susceptible to attacks from vermin and scorpions. A bed and mattress costs approximately £25 and makes a real difference to living conditions inside a house. Roof beams have also been mended at a cost of £10 for each split palm trunk beam; this includes the cost of labour. Electricity systems have been made safe where there actually is any electricity. Electrical installation costs around £10 per room to conceal the wires and put in sockets to replace draped wires that are just twisted together. The major renovation of homes has been in the installation of toilets where possible. The cost is £70 for a toilet with walls, a door, tiled floor, and either a pit or piping into an existing communal septic tank. Apart from the bricks, everything is done with recycled materials where possible.
The photos shown above show work that has taken place in three different villages. The top row shows new toilets either installed or under construction. The first photo shows the toilet that replaced the pot shown in the first photo of the March update. The bottom row shows a photo with some of the news beds in a mud brick residence where eight children were sleeping on the floor. The middle photo is of the new shelves put in a mini-market created to give income to a widow without support. The last photo is of a newly repaired electrical system from which a small child had previously had a severe electrical shock. At present our expenditure is devoted entirely to our sponsored families but we hope to extend this provision in the future. Repairs in the pipe-line include the installation of taps with sinks (cost £30 each home), installation of fans (cost £15 each), replacement of broken roof beams (£10 each), creation of a roof on a totally roofless home (£100) and various other small cost improvements. What is greatly needed in the houses where there are many children is a refrigerator. Temperatures in the summer reach over 45 centigrade and without a refrigerator it is impossible to keep what little food and milk they have from decaying rapidly. Our funds as yet do not stretch this far.
March 2009 During March 2009, the first of our renovation projects starts in the family homes of Nage Birka and Haja Marise. Many of the homes of the families in our programme are without basic facilities such as toilets and many are without any furniture which means that children sleep on the floor where they fall victim to vermin attacks and skin infections. Our first building projects include the addition of walls to separate rudimentary toilet facilities from the main living area. As can be seen from the photos below, most toilets are without solid flooring, doors or sanitation. A second project is to provide beds and mattresses to get the children off the cold mud floors.
..... This broken jar is the toilet of a family with 5 children. ...This old tin is the toilet for three generations of women........This cane 'cupboard is the only furniture in this house.
September 2008 When there is little money to care for people there is seldom any left over for the upkeep of where they live. In the villages surrounding Luxor many people still live with dirt floors and no internal plumbing and although Luxor’s children’s homes are above this situation, the majority are in dire need of maintenance, repair and updating. The dream of Little Stars, along with several other charities that Little Stars are working with, is to replace those buildings that are about to fall down with new buildings in a village setting where orphans are cared for within their own culture and disabled children can get treatment while their mothers can learn a trade making saleable items for Fair Trade centres. This is an ambitious project but it is achievable with your assistance. In the meantime, living conditions in some homes could be improved merely with the purchase of small items like rubber sheets and electronic mosquito killers, in others far more work is needed.
The above photos are not the worst case scenario of care homes but they do show how great the problem is. With your help, the Trust Fund will be able to do something positive about alleviating this situation.
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