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Homes joy for 14 families

Date:17-10-2008 - FOURTEEN families were yesterday handed the keys to their new homes that were built as part of a project to help hundreds of needy Bahrainis.

The keys were presented to the owners at a ceremony held in the Al Fateh Fort area of East Riffa following the directives of His Majesty King Hamad.

Held under the patronage of Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation first deputy chairman Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the event was organised by the Southern Governorate and the Housing Ministry.

Housing Minister Shaikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa bin Ali Al Khalifa, Southern Governorate Shaikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, other dignitaries and guests attended.

The project includes 100 housing units.

Shaikh Khalid said it was an honour to celebrate the implementation of one of King Hamads projects to help his loyal and generous citizens.

It is a great occasion to congratulate the families who will benefit from these housing units, he said.

(These units are part of the governments policy under the directives of King Hamad to provide proper housing for families in the kingdom).

Shaikh Khalid said the project had only been possible because of the hard work of the Southern Governorate and Housing Ministry officials.

This project is considered as a humane initiative to find solutions that will help in providing the right place for our loyal citizens, he said.

(I would like to thank all those who have put a lot of efforts to ensure the implementation of the project).

His Majesty has also ordered the construction of a commercial complex as part of the housing project, Shaikh Khalid said.

The BD2.5 million project covers an area of 16,600sqm.

Meanwhile, Al Fateh Fort residents were relieved after receiving the keys to their houses and thanked King Hamad for his grant.

The 14 families, who have lived in the area for years, have suffered because they did not own the land that their previous houses were built on.

They had rented the land from the municipality more than 60 years ago and some homes were built from wood and tin.

All the families had low incomes, while some were unemployed because of old age and ill health.

Many of the families include divorcees and widows, who were forced to look after their large families alone, surviving on donations.

In 2002, the families were visited by Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa accompanied by Shaikh Abdulla.

Shelter

Shaikh Salman at the time sent directives stressing the need to improve the situation for the families and build them new homes.

King Hamad also visited the area in 2005 to lay the foundation for the housing units and promised the families that the project was for them and

Their children.

Resident Abdulla Mohammed said that he had lived in the area for more than 60 years, where he raised his three daughters and a son in a house that was built from wood and tin.

I then renovated one room with bricks and stones and replaced the ceiling wood.

In the late 1970s, I built a room with bricks so that I can have electricity in the house and I was the first to bring electricity into this area and everyone followed suit, he said.

The house then became dangerous as the walls began to crack. Renovation was useless and the house was too small to accommodate two families as I had my son and daughters spouses live in it.

Mr Mohammed thanked King Hamad for the grant, which enabled him to get a new house in the same area where he had grown up.

Another resident Aqdas Asgar said that she had lived and raised her orphaned children and her grandchildren in her previous house that was built from wood, tin, brick and cement.

That house had so many memories but was hazardous and was infested with insects and rats, she said.

I was really happy when I saw Shaikh Salman stand next to my house when he visited the area in 2002.

Since then I had been hopeful that there will be a day when I will live with my son under one roof after he and his family moved out as the previous house was too small.