Phan Van Hai is among the five families in Hiep Duc district, Quang Nam province to build new homes in June during Habitat Vietnam’s Typhoon Ketsana Recovery Project.
In Central Vietnam, on one of the hottest days in mid-summer 2010, when many of the crops in Quang Nam province are suffering from drought, as most of the wells in Hiep Duc district have already dried up and the humidity reached maximum, Phan Van Hai and his fellow villagers started digging a new well to collect water. They made a wooden lifting block and while one was hand-digging the soil, the other two lifted it up, pot by pot. They worked under the direct sun for three straight days but there was still no sign of water.
Hai did not say much about the rough patches of his family, but his life story is written in the constant worry in his eyes. Hai’s wife, Huong, has been confined to bed for six years suffering from bone osteoporosis. It’s been difficult for him to see the pain she endures and how her body is becoming smaller and smaller each year.
Hai owned a 2500m sq rice field and shared five hectares of acacia forest with two friends; in addition to that, he worked as a seasonal construction labor away from home. However, being the sole breadwinner for a family of five, Hai could never afford a decent place to live. The thatched bamboo house they had been sheltering in for ten years was without a door or windows. Instead, there were hundreds of holes created by gaps between the thatches. Every year Hai had to “rebuild” the house after the disaster season: making new thatches and patching them together, knowing that they would only last for one cycle of weather.
Day four, there is still no sign of water. With almost no rain since the beginning of the year, Hai’s and four other families might be in a serious lack of water for the coming three months.
During the dry season, sunlight directly went across the thatch and heated up his house up to outside temperature. Rainy season posed an even worse scenario with heavy rain and wind. The house’s location on a high hill made the situation even less bearable for the family members. In 2009 when Typhoon Ketsana came, along with half of the roof, the entire house’s thatches were completely torn off in a few minutes.
In early 2010, Hai and his family were introduced to Habitat for Humanity Vietnam’s Ketsana recovery project in Hiep Duc district, Quang Nam. He became one of five homeowners working with Habitat Vietnam to construct his house in May and June. Hai decided to relocate the family to live near his mother’s place, which was situated lower down the hill and therefore, they would be less prone to typhoons and other calamities.
With Habitat’s technical assistance, his newly-built house was designed to resist against natural catastrophes in the future. For example, a brick roof was selected over a steel roof to withstand storm winds. Le Van Doan, Habitat Vietnam Construction Engineer, said: “The brick arrangement protects itself from flying off during strong wind. The roof is also more flexible to cope with wind direction.”
Hai believes that with this disaster-proof house, all he needed to concentrate on now was working hard for his family. “I need not worry about the wind, the rain or anything else anymore,” he says. Hai and his neighbors also found hope at the end of the fifth day – signs of water finally arrived, along with other indications of a better chance in life.
