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Any visitor to Kolkata will also bear witness to the sea of homeless living on the streets. Amidst the bustle of the heavy traffic, families are cooking their meals, washing their dishes or sleeping. The streets are their home and passersby their neighbors. Completely exposed to pollution and extreme weather conditions of tropical sun, humidity, freezing temperatures in the winter and Indian monsoons, the homeless live without refuge.
Those that do have shelter are not so fortunate, especially in rural areas. Houses are built of mud, bamboo and straw or of poor quality material, which fails to protect them from heavy downpours and extreme heat.
It goes without saying that there is an immense need to shelter the homeless and for those that do have shelter the need to improve their housing conditions. Addressing these needs the PSOC has built many homes around West Bengal for the homeless. Made from bricks and mortar (cement), comprising of two small rooms, a leak resistant roof and sanitation facilities with clean running water provides a family with a safe haven from the extreme weather conditions. These well-built homes have a life span of thirty years and cost, per house, only US $1,500 to build!
The work of sheltering the homeless and improving the poor living conditions for those that do have a home, cannot be completed quicker to meet the demands of those that urgently need a safe shelter.
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