Kerala Teachers Build 150 Houses For Homeless People

Sister Lissie Chakkalkal, the Principal of Our Ladies Convent Girls' and Lily Paul, another teacher at the same school, took the initiative of building a house for one of the schools students who had become homeless. The girl was a class 8 student who had just lost her father, who worked as a mason and had no shelter for herself and her family.

The two teachers initially raised funds for a 600 square feet house for the girl; however, there was no looking back after that. Both teachers started raising funds to provide housing for those who needed it the most.

150 Houses in 6 States

Eventually, it came to light that several students from the school lived in poor housing conditions. Therefore, the teachers met stakeholders, well-wishers and locals after their working hours to raise funds for the needy. The workers involved in the construction process also donated their bit.

The teachers began with the Housing Challenge Project in 2014, the year they celebrated the Platinum Jubilee for their school. They had built 150 houses in only six years, and the cost ranged from ₹6 lakh to ₹ 10 lakh. The new homes under the project are built under one cent and two-cent plots.

Homeless Free Society

Under the project, over 80 children and their families have gotten new homes and families with women, children, widows and ailing members were given a priority. The ANI quoted Sister Lissie Chakkalkal, "We started our House Challenging Project to provide shelter for our students who were living without basic facilities. Our dream is to make our society 'homeless free'. If people have a culture of sharing, then we can achieve our dream of making such a society".

Lily Paul further mentioned that the project is a team effort of people from several sections of the society, and everyone, including the students and teachers, contributes their bit.

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