Caritas Croatia to provide quake victims with 100 housing modules

(Photo: Caritas Croatia)

ZAGREB, 9 January (Hina) – The director of the Caritas Croatia charity, Fabijan Svalina, and the owner of the Tehnix company, Djuro Horvat, on Friday signed an agreement on the procurement of 100 prefab housing modules to earthquake victims in Sisak-Moslavina County.

During the contract-signing ceremony, the president of the Croatian Caritas organisation, Varazdin Bishop Boze Rados, said that Caritas iCroatia n cooperation with Caritas Internationalis, the Order of Malta and Croatian Catholic missions abroad, had ordered 100 containers for accommodation of people who were left without their homes in the 29 December disaster.

The housing modules, which are being manufactured by Tehnix factories, will be provided to people in distress and the bishop was quoted as saying that families with more children would be also provided with appropriate accommodation consisting of several connected modules, according to a press release issued on the Caritas website.

The bishop said that the it was likely that six containers, that is housing models, could be set up on a daily basis as of Monday. Activists and volunteers of Caritas will also prepare the infrastructure on the ground.

Svalina said that all were aware that the situation in the quake-wrecked area could not be improved overnight and that houses could not so quickly be constructed, and therefore it was necessary to provide quake-affected people with temporary accommodation.

Tehnix owner Horvat said the company and its 500 workers were happy to help quake victims and to participate in this project launched by Caritas.

Prefab modules, produced by this company for the quake victims, are 18 square metres large, and they are quake- and fire- proof and enable modular connection of two or four units.

Caritas Internationalis says on its web site that it “launches an €880,000 appeal to help Caritas Croatia’s work in ensuring safe and dignified living conditions to people made homeless by a recent earthquake.”

“Caritas’ eight-month project will initially help up to 200 households by providing prefabricated container accommodation and financial and technical help so people can repair their homes,” it says.

“Caritas’ response will focus on helping people in rural areas who risk being overlooked because of their geographical isolation.”