Citizen-led Study in TamilNadu Urban Habitat
Development Board Buildings.

An initiative of Arappor Iyakkam

Introduction:

Arappor Iyakkam is an organization working towards Transparency and Accountability in Governance. We write this representation regarding the issues faced by residents of Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board who have been relocated from various parts of Chennai to buildings constructed by Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB). These people face several issues due to the poor infrastructure in place. This requires immediate attention by the Government.

Arappor Iyakkam’s volunteers visited TNUHDB buildings in Perumbakkam, Semmenchery, Kannagi Nagar, Navalur, Thiruvottiyur, KP Park and Thideer Nagar in the month of August and September 2024. Thideer Nagar is an area where citizens have been demanding construction of TNUHDB building.

The study is intended to bring out the various issues faced by residents of TNUHDB and is also an effort to involve citizens from across Chennai to understand the issues of people living in TNUHDB and make continuous efforts to solve them. More than 50 volunteers participated in this study. The study is a documentation of the issues reported by the volunteers based on their interaction with the residents directly in the field.

The study has brought out various lapses from basic amenities such as lack of water, sewage issues, lift and power cut issues, garbage issues etc. The study also brings out the common problems of poor quality of construction of these buildings and the poor maintenance by TNUHDB department. Issues of drug amongst youth and lack of livelihood has further complicated the lives for the residents. The Government needs to take serious note of the study and work towards ensuring their basic needs and requirements.

Issues faced by residents of TNUHDB:

1. Kannagi Nagar and Ezhil Nagar:

Kannagi Nagar, Ezhil Nagar and Ezhil Nagar Tsunami Quarters come under ward 195 and 196 of Chennai Corporations.

• Quality of construction of houses – restored building

Poor quality of construction of houses is the biggest problem people are facing in all types of houses at Kannagi Nagar and Ezhil Nagar. Patches on the walls are coming out both on the Interior and exterior walls. Rainwater coming through the ceiling, fans is a common problem for the people living on the top floors. Due to poor functioning of drainage, sewage water coming into the houses during rains is again a common problem of houses in the ground floor. Some people have deserted their houses and moved out to other houses as the patch work or drainage issue was unattended by the officials. Some houses were restored by the TNUHDB 2 to 3 years back as they were in a very bad shape but the restoration work did not help and hence many houses are still in very bad shape.

     

• Absence of options for Livelihoods

Residents reported that they are suffering very badly without any job for their livelihood. They said that many men and women are willing to go for work but there is no work available for them due to various reasons.

• Transportation

Since the relocated places are faraway and there are thousands of people who have to commute to city for work, bus facility is not adequate. They also spend a lot for commutation in spite of the free bus facility available for women.

• Common Infrastructure – samudhaya nala koodam, ICDS

There is a big pit dug to build a samudhaya koodam but the drainage line is going through the said construction place and the project is left unattended now. Because of the big pit, drainage and rainwater has stagnated and become a house for mosquito breeding. And the people are denied the opportunity of using the facility since it is not constructed.

There are about 16-18 Anganwadi centres run inside the tenements in the TNUHDB houses itself whose quality remains a concern. There are around 4 exclusive centres of Anganwadi but residents say that more such exclusive centres are needed to address the early education and malnutrition of children instead of running them in small households.

• Functioning of Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) and Urban Community Health Centre (UCHC)

UPHC (near market bus stopping Kannagi nagar – Centre timing is from 8 am – 4 pm but it is closed at 12 noon itself. People are finding it difficult to avail the health care in the evenings and on Sundays.

UCHC (near bus depot) – working time is 24 hours but it is not working for 24 hours. The in-patient ward is closed and used as a storehouse. Residents inform that unavailability of specialised doctors such as paediatrician and gynaecologist and lack of sufficient medicines are important concerns.

Wellness Centre – Fully constructed Wellness Centre in Ward 196 is yet to be inaugurated inspite of completing construction months ago.

• Compound walls (infront of canals – okkiyam maduvu)

Houses in Ezhil Nagar are located on the canal banks and there is no compound wall between the canal banks and the housing tenements. Hence, there are lots of snakes in the residential area and there were some deaths due to snake bite. Because of the nearby canal with mixed sewage water, people are suffering badly with mosquito menace.

• Missing Roads

Roads in Ezhil nagar were not re-laid for many years. No road was laid at all near I Block at Ezhil Nagar.

• Haphazard EB connections

There are multiple issues with EB for the people living in these areas. EB cables are laid openly on the walls in the staircases. There is absolutely no safety to the people. People are exposed to danger every time while using the staircase. Children are playing up and down by passing through these EB cables.

There are also EB cables laid on the floor in many places including water pumps. DB boards, wood panels of EB metre boxes are to be replaced in many places as they are hanging and it is dangerous. Earth cables are found missing in the EB lines which is very dangerous to the safety of people.

An EB metre for tenements for one particular block is situated in some other block. This is the case for many tenements particularly for tenements in Block 6 and 14. There is no reading of EB metres by the EB staff. Billing method is to be streamlined to help the people paying unnecessary and unreasonable charges. EB staff treat the people very rudely when people contact the EB to check for the status of power-cut and other issues.

• Quality, Availability of Water

Quality of water is yellow. After giving many representations and complaints, the solution people found by themselves is to leave the water going waste (flowing on the floor and stagnating) for 30 minutes and then start using for themselves. Water is distributed through ‘Keezhnilai thotti’ (UG SUMP) by the TNUHDB though it is filled by Metro water. There are 6 Keezhnilai thotti in total viz., 4 in Kannagi Nagar, 1 in Ezhil Nagar and 1 in Ezhil Nagar Tsunami Quarters. These ‘Keezhnilai thotti’ are kept open in many places and hence there is garbage collected inside these drinking water SUMPs. And during the rains, these tanks are mixed up with sewage water and hence drinking water gets mixed up with sewage water.

Distribution of drinking water is not uniform. Some areas get water every alternate day and some areas get water once every 2 to 3 days. Mixing of chlorine is not automated and it is done by the employees and hence the same is not done uniformly. Sometimes, there won’t be enough chlorine and sometimes too much of chlorine mixed.

There is no 24 hours source of water in any part of these areas. If people have any emergency, like a death in a family, etc they don’t have a provision to take water even from one common place. Hence each area should be given a source of water 24/7 where people can go and collect water.

• Storm Water Drain

Storm water drains are under construction in some areas. The existing ones should have proper connections with an outlet to avoid flooding during the rain. In many places the chambers are kept open which is dangerous, especially for children and in some places. Mixing of sewage water in SWD lines and absence of desilting the SWD lines defeat the purpose of SWD. Ongoing SWD work should be given utmost priority by the officials to monitor SWD work not to add misery to people in the name of providing a facility.

• Sewage

Because of the poor quality of the sewage connection, sewage water is overflowing into some ground floor houses making it unlivable. Small cement pipes used for sewage drainage lines, blockage etc are the cause for drainage overflow. Sewage drain chambers are found without any cover hence garbage and rats are seen in the sewage lines. A house in Block 11 was full of sewage water for about 8 inches all over the house as the drainage connection at the backside of their house is not rectified. Hence the owners have vacated the house but the rest of the residents in that block are suffering with bad smell and mosquitos. There is a small drainage line created by the people inside the block to send out the drainage water flowing from the house. Everyone walks through that line inside the premises. It is extreme hardship for people living in Blocks 9, 11, 16, 23,24, 37 and 42.

• Garbage collection

There is no effective solid waste management schemes. And there is no separate bins for wet and dry waste. Only one bin is kept near every block. Urbaser staff empty the bins kept near each block and dispose of them through trolleys. The bins are not cleaned periodically and placed properly in one particular place.

• Public toilets

There is no public toilet available in the entire Kannagi nagar and Ezhil nagar (Ward 195 & 196). There is one public toilet built in ward 196 but is locked.

• Burial ground

Even death is a costly affair for the people living in these Tenements. There are exclusive burial grounds for Hindu, Christian and Muslim people. Residents reported that there is a person deputed as in-charge for burial / cremation work but without any salary. Therefore, residents say that this person gets his payment from the family of the deceased which costs around Rs.5,000/to Rs.10,000/- for a family. This is a huge burden for the families.

2. TNUHDB KP Park Housing Phase 1 & 2:

• Lift issue

In K P Park out of 4 lifts installed in Blocks A, B, C, D and F only 2 lifts (L2 & L4) alone is in working condition. When we checked with Lift operator and the residents the lifts are not working for the past 4 months.

On June 29, 2024 in Block D a resident by name Mr.Ganesan lost his life while trying to get out of the stranded lift due to power failure. The lift was going down from 10 floor and stranded between 8^th and 7^th floor. The safety mechanism which helps to reach down the next floor (in case of power failure) with the support of battery was not installed / faulty.

So far no solatium was given to the victim’s family by the government and no action has been taken against the Engineer and the lift maintenance contractor responsible for the death who did not ensure battery and Genset power connection. Infact, it is reliably learnt that TNUHDB has not even initiated disciplinary proceedings against the concerned Engineers.

• Garbage

There is a maintenance office building located to the left of the entrance way to the premises. It is much obvious that there was no cleanliness all around the buildings and open areas. There is a lot of trash seen around the building which are not cleared.

Sewage and Common Toilets Condition

As could be seen from the picture, the toilets are poorly maintained. The doors are in poor shape

Poor quality construction and lack of maintenance

As well known, this building’s plastering was done very poorly with 90% of the plastering failing in the study done by IIT CUBE report. Yet there has been no accountability on this issue. Neither there has been any steps to improve the plastering.

Safety Concerns

Entire Stairway wall openings are not protected properly with closely fixed guardrails. As seen in the picture it was simply fixed with steel pipes having easy opening for any children to get into it. Just a namesake guardrail fixed without functioning its purpose.

Fire water hoses seen on the back sides of the building. It looks to be namesake installation. Residents are expressing their concern that they were not explained or trained on its usage in case of emergency.

Also there seems CCTV cameras around but people are complaining those are not working.

3. Perumbakkam TNUHDB

Perumbakkam TNUHDB comes under Perumbakkam Panchayat, Chengalpattu District

Lack of running water

People get water in their pipeline for 1 hour every 2 days. Within this 1 hour they have to ensure that they fill in their buckets for use for the next 2 days. It is pathetic that running water could not be provided to people.

The quality of the water, maintenance of the sump, valves etc are an area of key concern as well.

Frequent Power Cut and Lift issues

Residents near block 63, 64 etc reported that there is regular power cut which is multiple times a day. This results in non-usage of lift. Power cut and voltage fluctuations remain a key problem and multiple complaints by the residents have not solved the problems.

Open EB cables

EB cables are just laid on the floor passing through the houses. Any damage to the cable will be a big threat to the lives of people. After we published a video, there were some efforts to make this situation slightly better.

Sewage entering houses

There is no proper drainage connection in Perumbakkam. Sewage has been entering houses regularly in Blocks 63, 64 etc in the ground floor and they have to keep complaining about it continuously without much hope. After our initial videos, the leakage of sewage on the main road has been addressed to some extent. Residents demand a permanent solution to this and prevent sewage from entering houses.

Poor Construction of Buildings

The building construction in Perumbakkam is extremely poor. It visually looks like that these constructions have been made with 10 to 15 bags of sand per bag of cement. People in block 63 and 64 explained to us how the ceiling plastering is falling on them and how they have to live within the houses within touching the walls as the plastering peels off.

Bus facility

There are close to 50000 people in the area. However, residents complain that there is no sufficient bus service. Many people go for corporation sanitation work as early as 4 am in the morning. But the buses are very crowded.

Street Light

Street lights are not sufficient and it is pitch dark after 7 pm in the evening on the main roads towards the bus stand. Women feel high;y unsafe to travel.

Drug Issue

Drug culture is a big issue in Perumbakkam. Children are getting addicted at very young age. Hence going to school and work is a challenge. This also leads to various other social problems like child marriage, giving birth to children at a very young age, lack of women safety and so on.

4. Semmanchery TNUHDB

Semmanchery comes under ward 200 of Chennai Corporations

Open EB cables

EB cables are just laid on the floor passing through the houses. Any damage to the cable will be a big threat to the lives of people.

Open Drainage in 8^th Main Road

There is no proper drainage connection in Semmanchery. The enclosed photo shows the situation in 8^th Main road of Semmanchery where the sewage water is let out on the land which gets mixed in the drinking water sump and SWD during the rain.

The Poor state of Public Park

There is a public park earmarked in the 69^th cross street, Semmanchery but the park is in abandoned state and filled with waste debris. There is no proper compound wall and the park is used by the anti-social elements.

Floods

Like many other resettlements, Semmanchery is also said to be on a water body. Hence the area is prone to flooding and water inundation. The sufferings and the loss faced by the people in Semmanchery during and after the floods is very high. After every rain, the whole resettlement area will be inundated by rain water for many days. Therefore the electricity is disconnected till the water drains through the roads. For every heavy rain, there won’t be electricity for almost a week. The people who are living in the ground floor will go to the first floor house and both the house people adjust among themselves within the 150 sq.ft house till the water drains in the ground floor. Apart from their sufferings, the people also incur huge loss as their belongings like house hold items, beds, etc get drained in the rain water.

Leakages in the buildings

Maintenance of buildings is not done in many blocks. Hence leakage of water inside the houses through the ceiling is also a major issue for the people during the rain times.

PHC

There is a Primary Health Centre available for the entire area. But people said that the doctor will be available from 7 am to 10 am only and nurses only attend the patients and give medicines after that.

Water Scarcity for 2^nd Avenue, Semmanchery

There is no uniform distribution of water due to irregular flow of water lines. People live in the second avenue hardly get the metro water. Once in a week or once in 10 days only they get water. Rest of the days they buy water for Rs.2 per pot. Each house spends Rs.200 for water apart from drinking purpose in this particular area. Rest of the areas in Semmanchery are getting water for 2-3 hours every day.

No burial ground for Christians

Residents said that there is no burial ground provided for Christians in this area. There are more than 500 Christian families that live in Semmanchery.

Attitude of the Police

When the residents contact 100 for any emergency situation, residents say that Police do not respond well to the people and don’t make a visit to the spot. Hence people find it very difficult during the occurrence of unsafe incidents like theft, drug peddling etc.

CCTV

CCTV is not installed on the streets and this makes the streets very unsafe especially for women and children.

Drug

Drug culture is a big issue in Semmanchery. Children are getting addicted at very young age. Hence they neither go to study nor to work. This also leads to various other social problems like child marriage, giving birth to children at a very young age and so on.

5. HLL Tsunami Quarters Tondiarpet

Location: Tsunami Quarters, HLL Nagar, Tondiarpet

Geo Location : 13.135604540253299, 80.28892869357144

Location Link : https://maps.app.goo.gl/F3bmgtFLKAbRhiZv6

Garbage

Chennai corporation is treating the place like a private apartment complex and expecting the garbage to be dumped outside the premises. No door-to-door garbage collection is made available.

Sewage

Sewage block is frequent and not cleared for several weeks. This place is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and could potentially cause many health hazards to the residents. When a resident tried to call Chennai metrowater complaint number 044-4567 4567, the call center staff could not locate the address.

Ration Shop

People do not get supplies in ration shops most of the time.

Unavailability of drinking water

People end up buying drinking water as quality water is not available.

Unused recycling unit

We found the garbage recycling unit closed. Upon enquiring, we got to know that it was closed for several months.

6. TNUHDB Navalur Housing Audit Report

Oragadam Town, Kancheepuram District

Tenemental scheme name	Navalur
Town	Oragadam
District & Division	Kancheepuram
Panchayat	Serapanancheri
Municipality	Kundrathur
No of Tenements Constructed	2048
No of Tenements allocated	2029
Location	https://maps.app.goo.gl/pVG7NjLDsAv8uuZv6
Year of allotment	2016
No of floors in each block	4

It is learnt that the housing construction was completed in 2008 as police quarters, but police dept rejected it stating its location disadvantage. The settlement started post Chennai flood 2015, around 1000 families were relocated from area around Anna Nagar (MGR nagar, arumbakkam muthumariamman colony) (Chennai Central) and around 1000 families were relocated from area around Anna Nagar Tambaram, Mudichur, Urapakkam(Chennai South).

Water quality:

The drinking water is sourced from the well at the end housing board and supplied through tap setup at entrance of each block. Residents informed the quality of the water is not satisfactory and many of them depend on the can water sold in that area.

Tank water:

For every 2 houses, 500 litres water tank is setup over the terrace and water is sourced from the nearby Serapanancheri lake. There are total of 6 bore well (150-300ft depth) in the banks of the lake, from where the water is pumped to tank from sump storage. Residents informed the quality of the tank water which is causing itching sensation at times. There is a sewage treatment plant within the housing board, but resident doubt its capacity and efficiency due to which the sewage water is not properly treated and let into the Serapanancheri lake, from where the tank water is sourced.

Sewage

There is no proper treatment of sewage or drainage. The sewage is flowing nearby without any treatment into the lake.

Healthcare facility

Amma Clinic exists since 2016, but not functioning properly. No doctors available. Only a nurse come to distribute Sugar and BP tablets. Residents visit Salamangalam or Padappai government hospital which is 8-10 kms distance from here.

Crematorium

A manual crematorium is set in the bank of the Serapanancheri lake with no road access and residents informed that during heavy rains, the water from the lake submerges the crematorium.

Ambulance availability:

No Ambulance is stationed in the housing board area or in its surroundings. Ambulance had to come from Oragadam, which will take around an hour to reach this place during any emergency.

School:

There is a govt school for classes until 5^th Std and only limited capacity until 8^th Std. Construction of additional infrastructure is in progress. so, students are using other nearby buildings, hospital temporarily. Many students from 6^th std are commuting to Govt schools in other nearby area.

Ration Shop:

Ration shop is available inside housing board premise. All rations are not available at same time, so residents have to take off duty from work place as different ration items are available in different days.

Theft:

Walajabad main road towards Panapakkam road is not lit and safety for residents, after sun set. Seems young guys under alcohol or drugs influence creates nuisance there.

Road:

Road not laid since the first settlement (2016). Residents are informed road will be re-laid sooner, but no progress.

Employment:

Employers from Orgadam, Sriperumpudur comes here for recruitment for their companies. They prefer candidates ages less than 40. So eligible candidate aged above 40 years are facing unemployment issue affecting their livelihood. Residents informed due to unemployment issue around 400 families have moved into city limits. Initially government had informed employment for all would be arranged in the Oragadam industrial corridor, but they feel betrayed.

7. Thideer Nager, Brickkiln Road, Otteri, Purasawalkam, Chennai

128, Brick Kiln Rd, THIDEER NAGAR, Purasaiwakkam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600007

Description:

The settlements of more than 500 families living in Thideer Nager, Brickkiln Road, Otteri, Purasawalkam, Chennai are in a very worrisome and unhealthy condition. All of the houses are extremely small (one room only) accommodating families of an average size of 4 members each, lacking basic hygiene and sanitation.

For over five decades, people say that multiple governments have come and gone, each making numerous promises, yet none have been fulfilled. Councilors often visit the area, offering assurances of permanent TNUHDB housing, but these promises seem to be made solely for votes. After the elections, there is nothing but silence and neglect. The residents are calling for permanent TNUHDB houses on land that will provide them with safe, sanitary living conditions and restore their dignity.

Building TNUHDB houses

The biggest demand of the residents of Thideer Nagar for many years is that TNUHDB houses be constructed for the 500 plus houses in the same place where they are living currently. There are huge vacant lands within where if there is political will, TNUHDB housing can be constructed for them immediately.

Lack of ventilation

The 500 houses are constructed so close to each other, almost sharing the wall leading to extreme congestion, leaving no room for cross ventilation. This situation is worse in summers due to the extreme heat in Chennai.

Lack of toilets

There are just 8 toilets, 4 each for gents and ladies respectively. About 2000 members are expected to defecate in these 8 toilets which are not maintained properly and stinking terribly. Therefore, people are forced to defecate in the open land (picture below), situated behind the settlements. Women are left to struggle all the more due to lack of privacy. Women are having to venture into the dark before dawn to empty their bowels. Women, especially young girls and pregnant women are the worst sufferers due to lack of healthy sanitation facilities.

Blocked storm water drains

There are multiple manholes throughout the pathway in the locality which we hear are storm water drains. More often than not, these drains are blocked pushing back water out of the drains. Since sewage water is also mixed in the drains, the leaked water causes heavy stink and also leads to unhealthy conditions, causing diseases to people there, especially small kids. Multiple complaints to the authorities seem to have yielded no results. The people in the locality say that they come and unclog the blocks, but the situation repeats itself in less than a week.

No drain for passage of grey water

There is no drainage provided for the grey water released from the houses to leave the area. Since there is no space, people wash their clothes or take bath in front of their houses but there is no pathway for the water to get drained. This once again causes mosquitoes to breed causing diseases to the people.

8. AIR Nagar, Tsunami quarters, Ennore

Date and time of Visit : 18.08.2024, 4 PM to 6 PM

Tenement scheme name & address	Periya Kasi Koil Kuppam, Ennore, Tamil Nadu 600057
Location	https://maps.app.goo.gl/BfzuYaKLkjEsJHpr6
No of houses	159 Blocks, 5300 Houses

Garbage issues

The backyard of every flat is spilled on the wall and on the street, causing public health hazards. Adequate garbage bin and collection system should be arranged and continuous vigilance and monitoring is necessary.

Sewage Issues

At the back yard of each residence, the waste water pipe from the upper floor houses is broken and flows through the back wall. It causes bad smell and affects public health. It shows the poor quality of the pipelines used. As this situation prevails in many residences, the pipe used to drain the waste water from the upper floor houses should be replaced with good quality piplelines so that it does not break.

Urban Primary Health Centre

Status Inadequate Medical staff, improper timings.

Issues and Action required:

1. 1. 1. 1. From the above, it could be seen that residents in each of the above places have to live in pathetic conditions and the Government needs to take considerable effort to address the issues mentioned by the residents of the area above on a mission mode.

         2. There are many issues that could be seen commonly across different housing boards with respect to lack of basic amenities such as lack of running water, sewage, improper bus facilities, frequent power cuts, lift issues, unsafe power cables, garbage and so on.

         3. In particular, the quality of construction of these buildings are pathetic. It is clear that there is massive maladministration and corruption in the construction of these buildings in plastering, quality of pipes used and other materials. The Government must take serious efforts to repair these buildings and focus on quality of TNUHDB buildings.

         4. It is inhuman to not provide people living in multistoried buildings with running water. Places like Perumbakkam and other places get 1 hour water once in 2 to 3 days in their taps which they have to fill and use for the rest of the time. The Government must provide the minimum recommended per capita water for all these households everyday.

         5. Thousands of families have been relocated to areas such as Kannagi Nagar, Ezhil Nagar, Navalur, Semmenchery and others, which are far from their places of original residence and livelihood. The justification for this displacement is that they were encroaching / obstructing on water bodies. Ironically, many of these families have been moved to Marshlands, where poorly constructed housing by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) now stands. Not providing them with in-situ displacement has costed their livelihood dearly and has made their commute to work miserable. Commuting daily to the city through congested public transportation systems is both exhausting and financially draining. On average, 20% of their hard-earned income is spent on transportation. Despite the government providing free bus services for women, this is woefully inadequate. Government should drop such distant relocation of people and should strictly provide for insitu rehabilitation for people in the future. For people in these places, the Government should work on issues such as commute, livelihood and other issues to make their lives better.

         6. With no alternative jobs available in the distant locations, many youths are falling prey to anti-social activities and drug abuse, creating a vicious cycle of despair​ in Kannagi Nagar and Ezhilnagar, Perumbakkam, Semmenchery etc. Drugs, alcoholism in youth is a major concern that needs to be addressed.

         7. The Government must immediately plug the leakages in the maintenance contracts in TNUHDB and should ensure efficient governance in TNUHDB Buildings.

         8. The Government needs to immediately sanction and construct TNUHDB building in Thideer Nagar for its residents.

         9. There should be proper and transparent grievance redressal mechanism through phone and online for residents of TNUHDB. Currently, the response of the officials to the direct complaints of the residents are extremely poor. An accountable and trackable grievance redressal mechanism is the need of the hour.

         10. It requires serious behavioural and attitude change in the minds of the public servants of TNUHDB. Many in the department see these buildings as money making machines through construction and maintenance contracts rather than understanding that they are dealing with lives of people and the future of children living there. A strong political will and change in behaviour from the Government is important to make significant and meaningful changes to their lives. Lack of sufficient manpower within TNUHDB should also be addressed immediately.

Conclusion

Government must recognize that people in TNUHDB households are the backbone of the city and should work towards making their lives better. This study is an effort to make their lives better. The Government must take the issues mentioned by the residents in this study seriously and work on a mission mode to make significant and meaningful changes to their lives.