Many Will Mourn Loss of George Moylan
(Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam) -- I read with sorrow the passing of George Moylan, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo. George was only a few months away from retirement when he died. George (his first name is used rather than his last because he was a friend to me and many others) had been heading the Housing Authority since 1987.
George was an incredible man who brought many strengths with him to his job every day. His job was to assist the disabled, elderly, working poor and the homeless find permanent housing. In a particularly difficult time, when the Bush Administration apparently deems these groups expendable in order to prosecute a senseless war, George worked hard to place people into a permanent residence.
George’s strengths included compassion, a willingness to help in very creative ways while still adhering to the law and the regulations of the US Housing and Urban Development, a persistence, willingness to literally bend over backwards, and all the while keeping his unique, and albeit cynical, sense of humor that kept many laughing.
George was not an aberration in humanity. Living here in a poor country such as Viet Nam, I see other distinctive, caring individuals at work to alleviate homelessness in difficult times. The August Typhoon Damrey left many homeless, thousands of hectares of rice land under sea water and thousands of homes destroyed. One businessman, Dao Hong Tuyen, put up his 1,200 square meter island villa, valued at $755,000, to raise funds for those left homeless. It is estimated that approximately 800 houses will be constructed from the proceeds. In addition, Mr. Tuyen has already donated 110 tons of rice.
Elsewhere in the country, Asian Commercial Bank (ACB) has been working to provide permanent housing for ethnic minorities. ACB recently handed over eight houses to minority people in the Thua Thien-Hue Province.
There are many other examples of individuals here in Viet Nam, a poor country with a Gross Domestic Product of only $52 billion (Saigon Times Daily, October 6, 2005), who give what little, or as much, they have in order to help their fellow countrymen. The Government, itself, has increased its financial allocation to the different provinces in order to restore those displaced by Typhoon Damrey get back into permanent housing. It’s not only in times of need, but the government does all it can do to help the homeless and the poor to obtain housing.
The task of housing the poor, disabled, elderly and homeless is a monumental task, made ever more difficult by shrinking funds taken from local coffers and sent to protect America’s oil and business interests in Iraq. Few are up to such a task. George Moylan was a man who could do it and he will be desperately missed in the County of San Luis Obispo and other locales where his heart touched many people.
His shoes will be very hard to fill.
George was an incredible man who brought many strengths with him to his job every day. His job was to assist the disabled, elderly, working poor and the homeless find permanent housing. In a particularly difficult time, when the Bush Administration apparently deems these groups expendable in order to prosecute a senseless war, George worked hard to place people into a permanent residence.George’s strengths included compassion, a willingness to help in very creative ways while still adhering to the law and the regulations of the US Housing and Urban Development, a persistence, willingness to literally bend over backwards, and all the while keeping his unique, and albeit cynical, sense of humor that kept many laughing.
George was not an aberration in humanity. Living here in a poor country such as Viet Nam, I see other distinctive, caring individuals at work to alleviate homelessness in difficult times. The August Typhoon Damrey left many homeless, thousands of hectares of rice land under sea water and thousands of homes destroyed. One businessman, Dao Hong Tuyen, put up his 1,200 square meter island villa, valued at $755,000, to raise funds for those left homeless. It is estimated that approximately 800 houses will be constructed from the proceeds. In addition, Mr. Tuyen has already donated 110 tons of rice.
Elsewhere in the country, Asian Commercial Bank (ACB) has been working to provide permanent housing for ethnic minorities. ACB recently handed over eight houses to minority people in the Thua Thien-Hue Province.
There are many other examples of individuals here in Viet Nam, a poor country with a Gross Domestic Product of only $52 billion (Saigon Times Daily, October 6, 2005), who give what little, or as much, they have in order to help their fellow countrymen. The Government, itself, has increased its financial allocation to the different provinces in order to restore those displaced by Typhoon Damrey get back into permanent housing. It’s not only in times of need, but the government does all it can do to help the homeless and the poor to obtain housing.
The task of housing the poor, disabled, elderly and homeless is a monumental task, made ever more difficult by shrinking funds taken from local coffers and sent to protect America’s oil and business interests in Iraq. Few are up to such a task. George Moylan was a man who could do it and he will be desperately missed in the County of San Luis Obispo and other locales where his heart touched many people.
His shoes will be very hard to fill.
posted by NewsstandGreg at 11:06 AM
0 comments
