Building Homes and Hopes

Home. It’s more than just four walls, or a territory to be marked. It is a place that gives a sense of security, warmth, and comfort. And at Arvind we believe that every person deserves not just a room, but a home of one’s own. A home that has amenities and infrastructure for a dignified life. So, we envisioned the possibility of rehabilitating the slum dwellers of Sanjay Nagar to safer, better built and comfortable houses. And once the vision was in place, we made it happen, by co-creating these homes along with its residents. Homes where families can share enriched lives.

Rather than make the slum dwellers feel like beneficiaries, we wanted them to have ownership in the project and be our partners. So, Arvind’s SHARDA trust unit collaborated with the AMC, Saath NGO, and the residents to develop a housing network for them.  The residents shared 1/3rd of the total cost, which came out to be Rs.2000 per house. while the rest was taken care of by us and our partners. But even Rs.2000 was a substantial amount for some of these residents, which is why they were provided with organized financing. After depositing an amount of Rs.600 in a Seva Bank account, they could acquire a balanced loan. These houses, in turn, had all the basic infrastructure of a modern-day home-like private toilet and working water connections.

The rehabilitation not only provided safer, better-built houses to the erstwhile slum dwellers but also helped improve their quality of life drastically. They were no longer prone to the risk of disease and social insecurity or discrimination. Instead of the slum areas being isolated and getting a step-motherly treatment, SHARDA trust included them into the housing system of Ahmedabad, leading the residents to feel like equals in a society that they were previously detached from.

We can proudly say that The Sanjay Nagar housing project was included in the UNCHS 100 Best Practices Global List. A small step in a long journey towards providing affordable housing for every citizen. And in 2015, the journey was taken a step ahead, by transforming the slums into a working-class, school-going community. Arvind Smartspaces has upgraded these residents by giving them modern world-class towers and living spaces and also the dignity of life, they deserved. But our quest doesn’t stop at the success of the Sanjay Nagar and its people. We strive to keep co-creating better homes, and in turn, better lives and opportunities for the people of our country.