Via partner organization IHC in Bangladesh, Woord en Daad is helping to build houses for Bengalis via an attractive mortgage system. Participants can receive a loan of 1500 against an interest rate of 9.5%.
By Bengali standards this is relatively low, In Bangladesh the banks charge on average 13.5%. Poor families are not eligible for a loan form the bank. With this loan, however, a house can be built for them. However one condition is that the loan is paid back within six years. Hossain Sultana tells us what this means for him:
‘Our family is made up of five people: my wife, Perdosi, my three daughters Shamima, Taharima and Rosanie, and myself of course. My name is Hossain. We moved into this house three months ago. I can say that I am extremely proud of our new home. Previously we had a house built from wattle and daub. Whenever it rained or there was a storm, parts of our house were often washed away. Now we have a solid house and for the first ten years we will not need to carry out any maintenance on it. And what do you think of my daughters? Now they have a place where they can quietly and safely study. The house has a door and can be locked. Their education costs me a lot of money, but I find it really important that they can work on their personal development. I want to invest in that.’
