All parents just want to be able to provide their children with the best of everything. For Reno and his wife Kasanah, their biggest wish was to see their 18-month-old daughter playing happily in a safe and healthy home.
Their journey of receiving their dream home started with the letter informing them that their family had been accepted as a Habitat homeowners in Batam where they live. The look of joy on his wife's face when they finally received the news was Reno's first glimpse of hope after months of adversity.
Things were looking bleak when Reno lost his job. “I tried applying for a job but there was no call and looking for work is now increasingly difficult. I work as a motorcycle taxi so my child and wife can eat”, said the 29-year-old husband and father.
Built with plywood and zinc sheets, standard materials salvaged by most low-income families for repairs and home construction, the old house was always dusty, messy and overall an unsafe environment for their baby.
“We hope our baby can live in a better home. It's been almost 1.5 years since her birth but we haven't been able to make her comfortable playing”, said Kasanah. Reno added: "Every time there was strong wind, the roof of our house would be very noisy as if it was going to fly away."
The family was understandably impatient for construction to start on their new Habitat house. The next big step for them was when a volunteer team from Rolls Royce arrived on site on 12 & 13 July. The team worked hard for 2 days alongside Habitat's small team of hired construction staff in Batam to build the foundation on which the rest of the house would stand on.
In August, Reno, Kasanah and their daughter finally moved in to their new forever home. Using savings he pulled together, Reno was able to expand their house by moving the kitchen and toilet to the back. Kasanah also plans to capitalise on the extra space to start her own sewing business from home to support their family.
With a smile, Reno adds that he has more plans to add extra rooms for his growing family because "because my wife is now pregnant with our second child."
"Thank you (and) greetings to the team of volunteers who have taken care of us, I hope the volunteer team is in good health and in God's blessing," said Reno.
