A Living Space To Be Comfortable In

A father of a family, evicted from his home, is supported by a whole community to build a new family house

By Michel Besse (Central African Republic)

A father living the daily hardship of poverty was evicted from his home in January 2016 after it had been sold without his knowing. He lived in a rural village near Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. He had to look for a place where he could erect a little straw house.

The man is an ATD Fourth World activist and coordinator at the street library in his village. When his friends learned of what had happened, they organized a “duty tour” in support of a solidarity workshop. For six months, from April to September, about 10 coordinators were able to help sewing the roof straw or making earth bricks for his new house. In teams of two or three, they helped this father build his home.

The friendship movement which started for this father in April 2016 has continued to grow. Once the production of 800 earth bricks was finished in November and December, the challenge of the construction of the house inspired his young friends to take action.

Led by Ruffin, the unifier of friends in his district, the group grew more dynamic. In two months, working two days a week, mainly on the Saturdays and Sundays, groups of three young people took turns building walls of this two-roomed house.

Another ATD Fourth World activist, Mr. Charles, joined these young people. During his youth, he had learned masonry and other building trades at ATD Fourth World’s ‘Courtyard of a Hundred Trades’ in the town centre of Bangui. Thirty years later, it was his turn to show young people what others had taught him before.

Charles explained: “This father had been evicted. He was staying with family, which bothered him a lot. In my heart I said to myself that I had started with ATD Fourth World in order to help people like this gentleman. If he can rest comfortably then that will make me happy”.

Ruffin has discovered how the right to housing, a living space to be comfortable in, is important. He has also learned the way in which this father has made friends in his new neighborhood, five kilometres away from where he was evicted a year ago.

Ruffin added: “Me too, The neighbours call me ‘son’; they are happy to have this new neighbour. We too, the youngsters, when we come to work here, we always greet everyone. And as the neighbor is a mason, he advises us”.

The walls and the floor tamping were completed at the end of December. An opening ceremony was organised by Ruffin in May 2017 (over a year after the eviction), gathering together everyone that had worked on the construction: there were joyful songs, a visit from the Village Chief, children’s dances…

A simple family moment! Yet a visible gesture, so that this father could let his neighbors know that his friends are their friends now.

In his new environment, he dreams aloud: “With a book each week, I could also give the children of this village the desire to set-up a street library!”