The disease malaria stunts social and economic development in Africa, costing the continent an estimated $12 billion a year in productivity, according to a recent study released by the Roll Back Malaria campaign.
What is the solution to malaria in Africa?
Medicine? Clinics? Free health care?
According to Columbus attorney and philanthropist Wilbur Colom, the answer is safe, affordable housing.
“The best thing you can do for health isn”t have a hospital or clinic. The best thing you can do for health is to give them clean water and a safe place to live,” Colom said, sitting in his office at Court Square Tours on Tuesday.
Providing housing and eliminating standing water solves a housing problem and a health problem, said Jim Parkinson, a Utah trial lawyer and partner in the venture, noting there is a housing shortage of 200,000 in Dar es Salaam, a city in Tanzania.
Colom, Parkinson and others are working on a project to offer such housing to middle-class families in Africa.
“Don”t get me wrong. There are million-dollar homes in Africa. But those are the people who own the banks and the mining companies,” Colom said, turning down Crowe Road, on his way to the site where prototypes of the houses are being built, off Lauren Lane near the New Hope area.
The average worker lives in much more modest accommodations, without electricity or running water.
”We take paved roads for granted”
Since Africa lacks the advanced infrastructure systems — like water and power lines — readily available in the U.S., Colom”s partners are working to incorporate technology for each home to be self sustaining.
Each home will be equipped to harvest solar and wind power; the roof is designed to catch rainwater and send it through an ultraviolet purification process for storage in a vacuum.
Sewage goes into a wetland of sand, gravel and the plant reed; the reed eats bacteria and other harmful substances. The concept, developed at the Stennis Space Center lab, replicates the earth”s water purification process.
In the U.S., “We take paved roads for granted, we take energy for granted, we take potable water for granted,” Parkinson said.
With a system in place that creates jobs and where families can build equity and wealth they can pass on, it will be easier for children to be educated, to keep a family intact and to enjoy life overall, Parkinson said.
Business, not charity key
Though the key players expect long-lasting positive effects from their efforts, the project is no act of charity. It is a business venture.
And Colom and Parkinson feel a for-profit program will be better for not only themselves, but for Africa, in the long run.
“My view is most (charitable organizations) were taking the wrong approach,” Colom said.
Parkinson said Africa has lost significant dollars in aid “and it”s gone nowhere.”
“The Chinese never came in to do charity work,” Colom said. “They came in to do business.”
In digging for minerals, the Chinese built roads, businesses and schools, pulling from the local workforce and boosting the economy.
“What you found is, people appreciate that more than a handout. Hundreds of people were working,” Colom said. “The Chinese create jobs. They”re not gonna give you anything.”
“When you can bring together a business opportunity and at the same time, solve a social problem, I think you”ve done something significant,” Parkinson said.
With a business model, rather than a “handout,” Colom and his partners expect to create jobs, mortgages and a sustainable system that can continue to improve the lives of Africans for years to come. Colom anticipates other developers taking on similar projects and doing for Africa what the World War II-era housing boom did for America.
“In this country, in World War II, we had a housing boom. It was very good for our country, but it took people from living in shacks to living in standard housing,” he said.
The project will start with six houses in Senegal or Tanzania. Colom already has built a handful of houses in Tanzania and established a mortgage system. The new prototypes are (much more advanced) versions.
Houses nearing completion
Dome Technology of Idaho and Bond Building Systems of Florida are building the prototypes. The Mississippi State Department of Health already has approved the creation of a wetland. Three houses are in full swing already, and foundation is laid for two more. The one closest to completion has a dome design, with 1,100 square feet, three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a walk-in closet in the master bedroom. It will be finished in about two weeks.
Other than concrete, the houses will be shipped to their destinations with everything, including fixtures, toilets and electric lines, needed to assemble the home. Walls are made of a wire mesh, with Rebar to support beams for placing the roof. The roof is comprised of lightweight steel trusses.
The prototypes are being finished to U.S. specifications, with such items as insulation and washer and dryer hookup, and will be sold or rented upon completion. Colom said the houses will give him and other investors a better idea of how much the houses will cost to build in Africa. The plan is to sell the houses for about $35,000-$40,000 for a 15-year period at payments ranging from $250-$325.
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