From July 26-27, (Tainan City) Anding District Office’s Anding Charity Organization worked at a furious pace to repair Ms. Jiang Cai’s leaky roof, which had been steadily deteriorating, before Typhoon Nesat hit Taiwan. By replacing the ceiling’s damaged bamboo beams with steel, the volunteer crew was able to restore the house so that it once again is both safe and keeps out the elements. The family is now finally free from the burden of needing to move around the beds whenever the roof started leaking.
Anding District Chief Liu Shih-Hsiung said that Taiwan was in the midst of typhoon season, adding that in June the monsoon’s recurrent short but intense downpours had already caused disaster-like situations throughout the country. For disadvantaged families living in homes that are in bad condition or experience frequent roof leaks, their fears and stress were only exasperated further with the arrival of typhoon season. Anding was the city’s first district to found a charity organization, and its most important goal is improving the homes and quality of life of underprivileged households. The organization looks for, and then records, homes in need of repair so that every household in Anding District can at the very least feel at ease when they’re in their own homes.
Part of this renovation project’s funds came from Tainan City Government’s Bureau of Social Affairs, which allocated funds from the Subsidy Program for Improving the Living Facilities of Elderly Low-Income Households and Lower-Middle Income Households. Mr. Wu, a volunteer and corrugated galvanized steel construction expert, carried out an on-site inspection and then discussed possible solutions with the owner’s family members. Wu believed that the bamboo beams in the traditional-style house’s interior were already too damaged, so simply repairing the roof tiles was not a suitable option. Therefore, the only way to fix the leaky roof and make it structurally safe was to tear off the roof tiles and then put on polyurethane insulated roofing sheets as well as replace the bamboo beams with a steel structure. In the end, the crew smoothly fulfilled its mission.
After visiting the home and looking up information, the district found that Ms. Jiang’s household qualifies for social welfare, as it’s a lower-middle income elderly household. Furthermore, the district office has her listed under its care services. Currently living by herself, Jiang’s four daughters are all married and her son lives in Yongkang District. Her granddaughter helped apply to have her house renovated by the charity organization, which visited the house in order to inspect it before starting the renovation process. The organization took into consideration that it was typhoon season, so it quickly estimated renovation costs and sent the calculations to the Bureau of Social Affairs for approval. The crew’s lightning pace enabled it to finish restoration work before the typhoon made landfall, allowing the family to no longer have to worry about the house’s leaky roof and unsafe structure.
District Chief Liu went on to say that as of right now the charity organization has already helped countless households by improving the living environments of their houses. As for its renovation process, most of the funds come from the Bureau of Social Affairs while the professional construction and restoration skills of the organization enable it to improve the quality of living conditions in residents’ houses. Liu expressed that the most important aspect is the district’s need to improve its ability in discovering houses in disrepair. He hopes that the public will apply for assistance and that village officers, village chiefs, and local residents will take the initiative to report houses in need of restoration work. By doing so, the altruistic powers of Anding Charity Organization will be felt all around the district.
Contact: Anding District Office, Social Affairs Section, Li Jia-lun, Phone: 5921116 Ext. 128