In January to start the new year with tragedy, a quarter within the Foys Lake Slum area suffered from a fire which destroyed the poor quality bamboo structures and devasted the land.
After hearing of the fire the team, led by Michael and Philip during their GCD organized a clothes collection from both host homes and the local area to help distribute much needed clothing to those who lost everything in the devastating fires. We conducted a survey in neighbouring slums to get a broader idea of the issues faced by the community and with funds raised in Caithness invested in some buckets and other equipment to reduce the impacts of future fires.
A few volunteers remained after the day to oversee the distribution of the clothes and attempt to ensure equality and order in the chaos that ensued. The team will be keeping a close eye on progress at the slums to make sure that when other charities and aid inevitably pull out o f the area, the inhabitants aren’t completely left to fend for themselves.
Since the fires, the area has now been cleared by the land owner who demanded rent from the slum dwellers, but residents have been unable to return. It is suspected the owner himself may have initiated the blaze to rid his land of the previous poverty and structures present there and dwellers are struggling to set-up homes elsewhere.
