Refuge Re-imagined

REFUGE RE-IMAGINED

Refuge Re-imagined aims to provide and transform substandard shelter/settlements around the world into healthy, self-sustained, vibrant communities.

We are fortunate to be living in an environment where we turn on the tap, clean water comes out; when we flip the switch, the room turns bright; when we open the bedroom door, a comfy bed is waiting for us. There exist on this world many people who don’t have this luxury. They either don’t have roofs over their heads, or their place of residence is so crowded with family or either inhabitants that they cannot guarantee a restful sleep. Los Angeles certainly has a substantial homeless population, and this persistent issue is global. While some of this is more visible and closer to home, there are estimated 863 million people in urban areas that live in slums. They are recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and many are unaccounted for.

Slums are a peculiar and fascinating kind of living:

• densely populated, with self-arranged buildings
• lacking reliable sanitation services and electricity,
• Lacking supply of clean water,  
• lacking proper infrastructure/connection to outside,
• and with very informal law enforcement.

Despite all these insufficiencies, many slum communities are vibrant and most of the time self-sustained, almost forming their own sub-culture. The problem then, for the government and NGO groups, how to provide adequate housing options without destroying their identity and community?

As we have learned from several global initiatives, it is all too easy to treat building affordable housing as a charity case, giving resources without acknowledging their cultural and social identity, that each group of people as unique and therefore requires a tailored solution.

One successful example in India, the Aranya Housing Project, takes a unique approach. Instead of force-feeding a western style town planning, the city commissioned a local architect and devised a set of manuals. The project only laid out the roads, divided the lands into plots, and built only toilets. This might sound odd initially, but this guarantees sanitation and supply of water. Then the residents are free to built as much or as little as they like around this main unit. If you are a bachelor, build a single room, and have a large garden for shared space; once you have a family then go ahead and build more rooms to accommodate additional people. The project does not mandate what needs to be built but only suggests materials and housing types that are most suitable for the the climate and use. This enables local tradesmen and workers to get in on the action and generate local initiatives and jobs.

What we think as fitting the locals may not. Our initiative then requires knowledge of the specific group and knowing what to change and what to preserve when implementing a master plan. There will be no one-size-fit-all kind of planning. In fact, that may bring unforeseen consequences and alter the community dynamic, causing instability, unrest, or even disperse the existing community.

Refuge Re-imagined will work with local groups and connect local professionals to investigate mass housing options for today’s slums, while preserve the unique community dynamics of the neighborhood.

Refuge Re-imagined will:

• Consult and surveyed local residents
• Hire local architects and train young professionals
• Devise community and housing plans
• Connect local trades to build the project
• Set up sustainable surveillance and maintenance for the facilities  

And as a result, bring the community together to accomplish the great goal that is improving their living conditions and possible create even stronger bonds. That way, not only are the people  reaping the benefits of an sanitized, equipped and well-connected modern community, they are also preserving their identity and dignity as a community in that much of the effort came within the very people who are living there. Anima Mundi Development Partners should support Refuge Re-imagined in that we recognize the individuality of each settlement, and we are guiding the the development of the community with our resources and expertise, and not imposing our logic on the locals, and ultimately achieving a healthy (physically and culturally) living environment for the less fortunate.

A World We Dare to Imagine (Pt.1)

We are fortunate to be living in an environment where we turn on the tap, clean water comes out; when we flip the switch, the room turns bright; when we open the bedroom door, a comfy bed is waiting for us. There exist on this world many people who don’t have this luxury. They either don’t have roofs over their heads, or their place of residence is so crowded with family or either inhabitants that they cannot guarantee a restful sleep. Los Angeles certainly has a substantial homeless population, and this persistent issue is manifold. While some of this is more visible and closer to home, there are estimated 863 million people in urban areas that live in slums. They are recorded in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and many are unaccounted for.

Slums are a peculiar and fascinating kind of living: densely populated, lacking reliable sanitation services and electricity, supply of clean water, and with very informal law enforcement. Yet the community is vibrant and most of the time self-sustained, almost forming their own sub-culture. The problem then, for the government and NGO groups, how to provide adequate housing options without destroying their identity and community? This requires knowledge of the specific group and knowing what to change and what to preserve when implementing a master plan. I am interested in investigating mass housing options for today’s slums while preserve the unique community dynamics of the neighborhood. (although still working out the where and how…) 

Blue Sweater Part 2

In the second half of the book, The Blue Sweater, Jacqueline recounts many of her past encounters from her 20 years of experience in Africa, India, Pakistan and other disadvantaged countries. She quotes a poignant line from Tennyson’s Ulysses, “I am a part of all that I have met”, summing up how her life is flipped upside down and she has been changed herself as much as she changed lives.

I want to comment on her approach to charity and solution to poverty. After the trial and errors, she figured out that the solution to poverty must be driven by discipline, accountability, and market strength, not easy sentimentality. The last point is one that costed her quite dearly to figure out. A blind kind of giving without knowing the local needs and without thought on economic sustainability is doomed to fail. A great example in the last chapter illustrated this well: Charity is not just handing out crisp notes to the two little girls in a Pakistani town she visited, but using the note to buy some of their proud creations, and in the act teaching them the virtue of hard work, as well as giving them the dignity that they need to grow up to be strong, independent women.

This is the best kind of charity in my opinion, a subject previously discussed on the genius of money. Giving loses meaning if it is only done to gratify the donors. It becomes a kind of consumption of others misery and the poor compete for a soured compassion.

In the end, Jacquline found a happy balance between entrepreneurship and philanthropy. By supporting local entrepreneurs who have the same values in creating solutions that will enable the poor to help themselves. The hierarchy does not create distance, but rather serve as a knowledgeable link that translate investments into applicable resources, and infusing the people with qualities of leadership.

As told on a story of bed nets in a village in Zanzibar, the saleswomen pitched their sales using only languages that appeal to beauty, family, vanity and comfort; never once did they use “musts” or “shoulds”, and the effect was evident. The local people work with the mindset and a level of empathy that outside forces cannot compete, and in this case it is better to give them the chance to better their lives with their own hands. Learning to let go is as important as the will to act, and the focus for drive to fulfill the ambitions.

Blue Sweater Part 1

In the book The Blue Sweater, written by Jacqueline Novogratz, we follow her journey from a banker to the founder and CEO of Acumen – a non-profit organization that funds social enterprises and aims to tackle issues of poverty. The story started off with a rather miraculous story about a blue sweater that her uncle once gave her. When the sweater fell out of her favor, Jacqueline donated it to Goodwill, only to find that the same zebra and mountain blue sweater appeared on a little boy when she visited Kigali, Rwanda, 12 years later. She even checked the clothing tag and sure enough, it had her name on it. This incident reassured her that people’s actions around the globe can have far and wide influences, no matter how negligible or small they may seem, and propelled her to continue her good deeds in the foreign continent.


Jacqueline started like the most of us in rather privileged upbringing, graduating from college and transitioning to a job at chase bank. She then realized the harsh realities of the world and in her current position, she was doing little to help them. Banks, particularly in well-to-do areas, were manipulating large sums of money to create overnight wealth, where people in impoverished areas were struggling to make ends meet. She then took action to her own hands. She “did what I now tell young people to do: I started where I could and where I was given the chance.” This advice is something that I think people need to take to heart. From what I see in my family and friend group, there is a lot of pressure to know what you want, have a set goal, and to be instantly successful in whatever it is you decide to do.” This is a very noble cause that a lot of us can learn something from; whether it is seizing the opportunities on hand, resisting societal and family pressure, and having a heart of gold and caring for the less fortunate.


The other point that I want to highlight is that charities may not always be well-received. In the book she had several bitter setbacks when the local people did not want her help, seeing her as hostile and imposing and even went to lengths as to poison her food. She then reflected her intentions and realize charity is just as much about the methods and attitudes as the actual gifts and resources. It is less about feeling good when you give, and more about how people perceive you and use your gifts. The people will not appreciate if they don’t see or understand your efforts to help. Initially she didn’t ask what they wanted or needed and assumed a role of expert, but as she learned through her mistakes, connecting with the locals, learning their needs and making conscious advisement will empower the people by giving them a sense of accountability, reward, success, confidence, and therefore freedom. Traditional charities were not a long term solution to help the poor, and that the best solution was to provide loans to the poor to start a business and become self-sustainable.

Coagula Sweet 16