his villa by the sea is worth 2 million euros, he donates it to Secours Catholique

Who is it mysterious donor ? Yves Oriou is discreet. “He lives near Nantes, worked for ATD Fourth World, he is a very committed man who also follows the project very closely, but he does not want to take the spotlight and we respect that” confide to us the volunteers of Secours Catholique. After the death of his mother, this man therefore decided in August 2021 with his children, his wife, his cousins ​​who are also the neighboring owners of the villa, to give this house which he has just inherited so that the poorest can come here on vacation. A way of carry on the tradition because his mother had already made some a boarding house for the most modest between the 1950s and the 1980s. This gift that fell from the sky left Christine Letoullec, Côte d’Amour manager of Secours Catholique, still flabbergasted: “It’s too good to be true, it’s exceptional”.

In the long term 6 autonomous housing units and collective living spaces

The Ker Coët villa located on avenue du Rêve in Pornichet, you can’t make it up, is a huge stone building of nearly 300 m2, built at the end of the 19th century in a wooded park of over 600 m2. HAS 200 meters from the seaa few steps from the shops and the Pornichet train station, “It’s a villa well worth 2 million euros” we assure Secours Catholique. Three floors, dozens of rooms, “in their own juice since the 1950s”towers on both sides added by the donor’s great-grandparents, “there is a lot of work because it is a heavy rehabilitation, we have to redo the electricity, the insulation, but also the layout of the rooms to adapt the house to our project” explains André Boullié, a retired volunteer, former architect, that’s good! He naturally became a project management assistant. “We want the beneficiaries to be able to find each other and meet easily in collective living spaces, such as the garden, the living room, or even the games room that we are going to set up in the basement. But this community life does not should not be an obligation.There will therefore be 6 self-contained accommodations in the villa, all equipped with kitchen and bathroom, and of all sizes“. Big studio to accommodate a mother and her child, for example at a attic apartment ideal for groups or large families. “With the height under the ceiling, we can already imagine bunk beds”says the retired architect.

It is a listed villa, we will respect its architecture and its soul” – Christine Letoullec

Renovate, retype but in no way misrepresent : “it is a listed villa, we will respect the architecture and its soul too” says Christine Letoullec, Côte d’Amour manager of Secours Catholique.

Works at several hundred thousand eurosSecours Catholique will dig into its reserves with the support of the Region but also hopes to be able to count on local communities, the patronage construction companies, as well as donations. “There will be a crowfunding platform this fall when we start the work, for the moment we are only at the preliminary draft, the best is ahead of us”. The beneficiaries are also consulted to participate in the project and give their opinion. Secondly, Secours Catholique volunteers will be called upon to paint or assemble furniture. Within 2 years, the Ker Coët villa should be able to accommodate 15 people for stays of one to two weeks and it will remain open all year round to meet a need: the right to holidays for all.