Foreign volunteers join Thais to construct homes for families of needy Phuket fishermen

This year, Cigna brought over 50 volunteers from Europe, America, the Middle East and Asia to Mai Khao municipality, in Phuket’s Thalang district – home to underprivileged fishermen’s families – to build houses for three such families, those of Woraphan Thititanyaluk, Salinee Srirat and Sodsri Sairaya.
Sodsri shared her feelings after receiving her own home, saying, “We are a big family with many members. Since I was young, and until now at the age of 40, I have never had my own room. Some nights I couldn’t sleep and felt troubled. When I started my own family, I had to move out to stay in a small hut with my husband and children. The hut had neither a bathroom nor a kitchen.
“Having my own home and my own bedroom is truly a dream come true. I would like to thank Cigna volunteers who came to help build our home. It is the most precious gift. Although they were here only a short period of time, I feel a strong bond with the volunteers as if they were my own family. Thank you for making our dream come to life.”
Preecha Phusimma, one of the Cigna Thailand volunteers, recalled his experience in participating in the home-building activity, saying, “I know that the tsunami hit Phuket many years ago, causing misfortune for the people of Phuket, especially in the area of housing, and I felt the urge to help by joining the Cigna programme.
“Throughout my four days as a volunteer, I was impressed by the energy of Cigna volunteers from all over the world in building homes for the underprivileged. We started by laying bricks and plastering, and finally handed the houses over to the families. This activity made me understand the word ‘home’ from various perspectives.
“Home is not just housing, but the beginning of life. The progress of families, communities and societies all starts at ‘home’. I feel proud and thrilled to have been a part of this activity.”
The activity has certainly confirmed that the well-being of the community and society can be co-created.
For six years, from 2010 to 2016, Cigna has helped build 11 homes for the underprivileged in the northern, eastern and southern parts of Thailand.
The US-based company is committed to continuously partnering with Habitat for Humanity in other countries as a part of creating a stable, safe and sustainable community, in line with Cigna’s global vision “to help the people we serve, improve their health, well-being and security”.
Cigna International Markets’ president Jason Sadler said Cigna would continue to work with non-profit organisations around the globe to improve health and health equity.
“We know that no matter where you live, your community plays a big role in your health. We work together with businesses in our local communities, our employees and through the philanthropic work of the Cigna Foundation to help the communities where we live and work to be places where making the healthy choice is the easy choice.
“This is the fourth consecutive year that Cigna has supported Habitat for Humanity as part of our global CSR initiative. Habitat for Humanity helps to meet the most basic need for people – housing. There is a need in Thailand for proper housing, sanitation and water systems, which we know are critical in order to have healthy living. Cigna is committed to helping the communities where we serve become truly healthy,” he said.

Meaningful connection
“Our approach to leading corporate social responsibility at Cigna, called Cigna Connects, is to meaningfully connect our mission to a broad range of environmental, social and governance initiatives,” said Lisa Bacus, Cigna’s executive vice president and global chief marketing officer.  
Julian Mengual, CEO and country manager of Cigna Thailand, explained the significance of the “Cigna – Habitat For Humanity Recognition Build” programme in Thailand in the following way: “Cigna’s corporate social responsibility activity in building homes for the needy is in line with the brand positioning ‘to enhance people’s health and well-being’, as well as reflecting Cigna’s disposition to uplift Thai society.
“Providing housing for the needy is the most valuable gift as a home is the foundation of everything. Having one’s own home improves people’s quality of life physically, mentally and financially. Cigna will continue to improve Thai people’s lives through such CSR programmes.”