Labour of love: Kerala's 'White Army' has been building houses for the poor 

The White Army -- a collective of 30 masons, painters, auto drivers, students, and an electrician of Arayi village -- has been helping build houses for the poor for the past eight years.
White Army the collective of 30 masons, painters, autorickshaw drivers, a couple of students, and an electrician of Arayi village.
White Army the collective of 30 masons, painters, autorickshaw drivers, a couple of students, and an electrician of Arayi village.

KASARAGOD: Vidya Shankar's Tamil Nadu-based husband, a daily wage labourer, died four years ago
in Salem. That was the second time she was orphaned. The first was when she was a teenager. The second time, she carried a toddler in her arm and a six-year-old daughter clutched her other hand. Though her mother had left her 10 cents of land in Arayi in Kanhangad, there was no house. For the time being, her aunt took the family in.

Seeing Vidya's plight, two women's collectives in the neighbourhood thought of helping her build a house. They pooled just enough money to build the foundation for the house. The construction work was stuck at that stage for a year when her councillor, Mini K, told Vidya about the White Army.

"Because of them, my girls and I have a house of our own," says Vidya, sitting in front of her small but solid house.

The White Army -- a collective of 30 masons, painters, autorickshaw drivers, a couple of students, and an electrician of Arayi village -- has been helping build houses for the poor for the past eight years.

"We don't have money and we don't raise money either. What we can donate is our labour of love," said Surasu P P, 40, a salesman in a jewellery shop in Kanhangad and member of the White Army.

They work only on Sundays and other holidays -- that means the White Army never takes a break. Now they have completed 500 days, built 10 ready-to-occupy houses, built the structures of another 35 houses, and constructed additional rooms, attached bathrooms, and kitchens in 150 houses. They have built houses in Panathur and also in Cheruvathur, which are 60 km apart.

"We build houses which have a maximum built-up area of 650 sq ft. That cap keeps out the middle class," says Narayanan P (50), the chief mason of the White Army.

Of the 30 members, 10 persons will always be available to work on holidays Narayanan has not missed a single day since 2012. "We take just five Sundays to build the structure of a small house. We start at 6 am and wrap up by 3 pm," he said.

Back in 2012, five masons -- Narayanan, Santhosh K P, Satheeshan A, Surendran A, and Rajan P -- got together to build a house for Rajeevan P P, their colleague. They did not charge him any money. "That's how we started. Then we thought why not build houses for the poor," said Narayanan.

Soon the group started expanding. So did the call for help. In the initial years, they built a house for Suresh P, a daily wage labourer. After the work was completed, he too joined the White Army.

Jithin K V was the youngest to join the group in 2014. He was in class VIII. Today, he is pursuing his BA Honours in Political Science at Delhi University. He is home because of the pandemic. "Except for the 70-80 Sundays and holidays I was in Delhi, I have always worked as a helper with them. Now I know masonry. But they still use me as a helper," he said.

This Sunday, he won't be available because he is preparing for his final semester online exams.

The members of the White Army hardly keep in touch with their beneficiaries. "Often a councillor or a common friend will inform us. After checking the background, we take up the project. Once we are done, we take up the next project," says Surasu.

For every house, the White Army says they put in labour worth around Rs 1 lakh to build the structure. "If you add foundation, it will be another Rs 25,000," Rajeevan P P, another mason in the group. "But once we wear the hat of the White Army, we don't take money," he says.

This Sunday (June 20), the White Army is making an exception. It has taken up a project which has a built-up area of around 1,250 sq ft. "We are working for a fee," says Surasu.

One of the members of the White Army has been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and he needs money for treatment, he says.

The White Army is also always available to clean roads, public space, wells, and water bodies. "We don't confine ourselves to building houses. During covid times, we were also doing funeral rites," he says.

Next, the 30 members are planning to save Rs 2,000 for eight months to buy an ambulance for their village.

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