|
Our Project "Low Cost Comfort Shelter for Newborn's Mothers" ("Casa do Aconchego" in Portuguese) has come up from the need to give shelter to the postpartum mothers, who are coming from nearby cities, and have their children hospitalized in "Santo Antonio Hospital - HSA" Intense care units, but don't have the meanings to stay in a hotel during the healing process, which might take several days.
Santo Antonio Hospital (hsan.com.br) is a public hospital and reference in Brazil in the areas of Orthopedics, Oncology, Bariatric Surgery and specially High Risk Gestation. It receives patients from 26 different near cities, being 90% from the federal public health insurance (SUS). Almost all those cities are part of Rotary District 4650.
In order to provide an environment where the companion mother could spend the day and sleep at night, while their children are being taken care at the HSA, the Association of Friends for the Santo Antonio Hospital - ASA (asablumenau.com.br), along with the R.C. de Blumenau-Norte and R.C. Blumenau, joined efforts to create the "Casa do Aconchego", which is a shelter house with 12 beds, and rooms for the mothers to spend the day doing activities to distract them from the anxieties concerning their children health conditions. It is also have a space to do their own laundry, a small kitchen, and a living room.
In order to be entitled to stay at "Casa do Aconchego", for free, the companion mothers will have to go through a triage by the Hospital (HSA), which will define the prioritization and the duration for each stay.
The Project has to be self-sustainable, in the sense that the long term managers of the "Casa do Aconchego" don't remain with high fixed cost in the long term. Based on that, it was defined that renting a house would not be viable as a final solution. Moreover, buying a house at the HSAN vicinity, which is an expensive area within the city of Blumenau, would also become too costly.
After considering other options, the final solution was the usage of an area inside a parking lot, 50 meters away from the HSAN, where we will build a container house. Main reason for the container option is the flexibility of future local change (if necessary) and the lower cost compared to other building structures.
It will be composed of one 40 feet High Cube container, where we will have the living area, kitchen, reception and laundry. And three 20 feet container, containing each: 4 beds (2 berth beds), one WC with shower, and 4 wardrobes.
Total cost of project deployment is BRL150.000 (approximately USD46.500).
This cost includes the 4 containers, windows, doors, furniture, 5 air conditioner, electric and water project and installation, container insulation, walls, floor, groundwork structure, metal stairs for the second floor.
The Rotarians from two clubs are already engaged in the foundation and management of the Association (asablumenau.com.br) which will manage this project in the long term, along with other non-Rotarian members.
Please go to asablumenau.com.br for further information about the project, 3D pictures, etc.
|
