Madras family to move into new home soon
A two-room house has been built for the family, and it will be handed over to them soon. The public is still welcome to donate furniture and other necessities.
The Mpumalanga News had, over a period of time, kept readers informed about the Mafuwane family from Madras near Hazyview, and their struggles to secure a small house to replace the dilapidated shack in which they had been living.
After five years of trying to deal with the provincial Department of Human Settlements (DHS) and seeing all attempts fail, Dumisane Mafuwane saw his family’s dream come true when the Hazyview branch of Build it stepped in to assist the family.
The store manager, Fesinah Mohlala, said the two-room house is almost complete and all bricklaying is done. The contractor is plastering the inside walls, which will take less than a week. Mohlala added that the shop had donated all the materials after they read about Mafuwane’s story in the paper.
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“We decided to intervene, because their situation was not pleasant and no one deserves to live in a place like that. Some community members volunteered to build the house for them,” she said. They are pleased that the family will have a decent home during the festive season and can enjoy their sleep when it rains.
She also called on the public to donate much-needed furniture to the family. “We have played our part as a business to give back to the community and we are appealing to other businesses to do the same. The family still needs more assistance, since no one has a job and they are depending on social support,” said Mohlala.
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Mafuwane’s wife and children were forced to leave the shack for fear of it collapsing on them, while he stayed on. He said he was happy that he would finally be united with his family again. “I cannot wait to have my wife and kids under one roof after staying apart due to the state of the shack. What Build it Hazyview did for us is big, and I will forever remain grateful. The fact that the rainy season and festive season are here and I have better shelter means it’s a good way to finish a year,” he said.
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Previously, the spokesperson for the provincial DHS, Freddy Ngobe, had said Mafuwane needed to get his local councillor to assist him in making an application for consideration to be captured as a recipient on the system.
