Living in the Cold

Lile Kik is worried. A dynamic professional who is always on the go, she's a few months away from retirement and she's cold all the time.

Lile’s a tenant in Skopje’s Aerodorm apartment complex. Thirty-five years ago, the buildings were brand new; today, they are crumbling showing the signs of years of neglect. Her flat’s average temperature is 16 degrees centigrade. It lacks insulation, double glazed windows and proper doors. It also has an asbestos tiled roof that needs to be removed and an exterior façade that’s falling off.

So, while Lile would like to rush home from work, she doesn’t. She is fed up with always having to find some excuse to be the last one at work because it is warmer there than at home.

"It is warmer everywhere else," says Lile, "even the supermarkets."

But, Lile isn’t alone.

Almost 80% of Macedonia's housing stock was created between 1960-1980. Built from pre-fabricated, low quality materials, the buildings were once state owned and maintained. Today, the privatized housing leaks heat and leaves tenants in the cold. City inspectors who issue energy passports graded Lile’s flat '2’ out of '10’. So Lile, fed up with high bills and chilly rooms, decided that as head of her building’s homeowners association to do something about it.

"It wasn't easy at first," said Jovan. "It's a big building and we had a lot of meetings. But slowly we got there. Habitat helped a lot. We selected the builder out of the three offers we received, and then Habitat made sure everything was in order, that the materials arrived on time and were properly used, and that the building company delivered everything on time. Habitat handled everything. The entire project took only a month and half to complete. What a difference Habitat for Humanity made."

It is obvious that Jovan’s words are like music to Lile’s ears. She looked at the building from the outside. “It really looks nice.” she said. “How much have you saved on your energy bills?”

"Well, a lot," says Jovan, proudly showing the electricity bills. “Look at this it used to be 60 Euros and now it is only 40. See it for yourself. Last year, when the central heating went off at 9 pm, our home was cold by 10 pm and we had to put on electric heaters. Now, our home is warm until three, perhaps four in the morning - that's what good insulation does for you - and the humidity in the walls has gone, the smell has gone, we couldn’t be happier.”