Dozens of volunteers from across the country braved rain over the past two weeks to build a dream home for a four-year-old girl who was living with her family in a damaged house fashioned from a pig shed in Yunlin County’s Sihhu Township (四湖).
Volunteers from the Taiwan Hope Volunteer Group (台灣希望義工團), some of whom traveled hundreds of kilometers, completed the project on Sunday.
“This is the best Father’s Day gift I can give to myself,” a volunteer said, after seeing the girl, surnamed Cheng (鄭), happily installed in her new home.
Photo: Lin Kuo-hsien, Taipei Times
Cheng put on a pretty dress and presented a hand-drawn card as she thanked the volunteers on Sunday.
“The house is so pretty. The bed-sheet curtains are my favorite colors — pink and blue — and there’s even a large doll,” Cheng said, when she entered her room.
‘FAVORITE COLORS’
Photo: Lin Kuo-hsien, Taipei Times
After visiting every room in the house, she was hesitant to leave her room, as it was bright and comfortable, had a doll with a dollhouse and a desk piled with storybooks.
Cheng had drawn a picture of her “dream home” on paper, as her family of four lived in an old, damaged house that was a renovated pig shed owned by relatives.
Taiwan Hope Volunteer Group chairman Yu Rui-feng (尤瑞豊) said that the group had learned about the family’s situation in February, and after visiting the house, realized that it was damaged and might collapse at any time, so they made it a priority.
The group had planned to start construction in the middle of May, but it was postponed until late last month due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Yu said.
The volunteers were determined to make Cheng’s dream come true, so many braved the heavy rain of the past two weeks to travel across Taiwan and help her build her new house, Yu said.
A teacher surnamed Yang (楊) traveled all the way from Hualien, and did not miss a single day of the project, he added.
The house, which has a floor area of 21 ping (69.42m2), has three bedrooms: one for Cheng, one for her parents and one for her grandmother, he said.
The site is located on a flood plain, so the house was raised 30cm as a precaution, he added.
The house, which was built with fire resistant materials, as well as materials that keep out heat and noise, cost about NT$700,000, which was donated by a woman surnamed Lin (林) in Taipei, he said.
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