As winners emerge in ‘Home After Crisis’ contest
International Organization for Migration, (IOM), Borno state government and North East Development Commission are seeking ways to partner in finding durable solutions for providing shelters to displaced communities in North-East Nigeria.
IOM Chief of Mission, Laurent de Boeck, said that the agency looks to partner with key stakeholders and private sector players to provide housing to communities hit by humanitarian crises caused by Boko Haram insurgency.
He made this known at the Nigeria Housing Competition, ‘home After Crisis’ award organized by the agency where three winners emerged alongside a gold mention, yesterday Abuja.
According to him, IOM has started building prototype shelters that are durable, cost effective and climate friendly making use of materials accessible to communities,
in Maiduguri and is extending same to Yola and other areas affected by insurgency causing humanitarian crisis.
“What we want to have is a new test technically with engineers and architects and we want partners to look at these prototype and see whether we can adapt them, we want people to feel safe, at home while integrating the communities and their work in this different way of building houses.
“The prototypes are low-cost, it is using the materials locally and we are training the population to also build themselves such as the bricks, to recycle what exists around them and we expect to be able to grow with the population constructing the houses themselves,” thereby making them to own the process, he said.
He adds that “We have an aim of a million housing in Maiduguri but we hope to grow it across the country so we will work with the private sector to look at potential support, we look at all partners and this i why we associate our work with the Nigerian Institute of Architecture.
“We have a commitment from the state which is quite encouraging and we hope to build not only in the North-East but across Nigeria as we hope that we have launched today a kind of movement thinking beyond affordable housing. This we will over a period of time.”
Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum, said that his state and the North-East Development Commission will partner with the UN body to adopt new models of housing toward resettling of displaced communities.
Zulum said “The government of Borno State and governors of the northern states will provide the political will needed to partner with the IOM and other organizations in order to build more homes for the families of the displaced communities.
“We shall very soon enter into an agreement with the IOM and see how we can partner together and build more houses.
“Most importantly, the first and second winners are from Nigeria so they are close to us. Importantly also, the host universities, the University of Maiduguri and the University of Yola are close to us so I think we are good to go.
While assuring the sustainability of the houses, he said “The security situation in Borno has improved by over 90 percent. We have many safe areas therefore, we shall do everything possible to ensure that the houses are built and then communities resettled in a signified manner.
First place winner of the competition, Team Imagining, won a cash prize of €5, 000, the second place winner, Zuhura Zuhair, got €3, 000, the third place team, be coming Home, from Ukraine and the Gold Mention, Team Zee Real, received €2, 000 and €500 respectively among other honorable mentions out of 30 finalists.
