The important stuff, what difference is this build actually going to make to the community.
There will be eight homes, built in two quadruplex blocks . Each will have two bedrooms, bathroom, downstairs loo/utility, kitchen and lounge. Each home is 54 square metres.
Each home will house families of 4 (maybe 5 but no more). Each of these families will currently be living in similar sized accommodation, usually with three or more generations living in two room (that's two rooms - not two bedroom) apartments.
HFH will advsertise locally for families to bid for one of the homes. This will be online, local tv, flyers and newspapers. Families are chosen by HFH on a 'best fit' policy. This will be based on their history, their financial status and their ability to fund the build.
Balance Sheet
Many families live on minimum wage, they will be working but simply unable to afford the local market prices. In Ploiesti, a two bed apartment would be in excess of €65,000 and rent around €100 a month which exceed the minimum wage.
Each block costs €160,000 to build, €40,000 per home. Each family is required to fund half of these build costs, usually over a 20 year period.
The families also have to donate 500 'volunteer' hours to the build. Alongside the independent and corporate volunteers, such as ourselves, there are family members on the build at all times.
Families draw from a hat to decide which plot they get. This builds a real community spirit across the eight blocks as all families pull together to complete them all.
Each family gets a home, independence and a sense of community and a positive future.
Company Report
H4H has 14 full time staff in Romania, based in Bucharest, but builds across the country. They host 5 teams from the UK each year, plus other from around the globe.
To date they have helped 64,000 people across the country, not just with domestic builds, but with :
Disaster Relief (snow, floods, land slides and earthquakes are all present in Romania)
Medical Relief
School Builds & Renovations
One of their more important tasks is training local people to help themselves in all these situations.