8 Badjao families acquire decent homes

Two housing quads that were completed in December 2011 were turned over to eight Badjao families last month.

The housing units form part of the 35 housing quads constructed under the Badjao Integrated Area Development Project (BIAD-P) of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Integrated Development unit for the 140 Badjao families in sitio Puntod, barangay Alaska Mambaling, Cebu City.

The houses are made of Interlocking Compressed Earth Block (ICEB), a technology shared by the JF Ledesma Foundation Inc., which has been proven to be durable, economical and convenient.

The housing design was agreed upon through series of consultations with the Badjao leaders.

“In our old shanty, we hardly sleep at night because of the rugby boys roaming around. During rainy days, water drips from the ceiling. We are truly grateful for we now have better settlements,” Darami Ladja, one of the recipients, said in Cebuano.

“RAFI intends not just to build houses but also to empower the Badjao community,” RAFI Integrated Development executive director Rowena Bandola-Alensonorin said.

An initiative of RAFI, the Presentation Sisters and the University of San Carlos, BIAD-P aims to help communities overcome the vicious cycle of poverty.

For more information about BIAD-P, contact Anthony Fuentes at 418-7234 local 515 or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/rafi.org.ph.