Newcastle has its own dream team that want to ‘pimp your house’.
Yes, you read that right.
The ‘Pimp My House SA’ organisation is a Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) dedicated to helping redesign, refurbish and recreate homes that have been affected by disasters, or those in need.
The young, ambitious and caring Andile Sithole created the project.
Living in Section 3 Madadeni, Mr Sithole was made aware of the suffering of people in the area, after their homes were damaged due to floods two years ago.
“I wanted to be able to help these people.
“Their homes were completely damaged, and it was taking too long for the municipality to help them, so I decided to create a way in which I could make a difference to them,” explained Mr Sithole.
Selflessly, Andile designed the idea of an NPO that would focus its attention on those people living in conditions that are often considered below par.
He says his idea of ‘pimping’ houses came from TV shows like ‘Pimp my ride’ and Extreme Home Makeover.
“I wanted the idea to be fresh, but I wanted to be able to make a difference to a person or family that they could see.
“We don’t want to take away or change the life of their homes, we just want to make their homes more comfortable, even if it means just installing some furniture for them,” he said.
Public relations manager or the NPO, Nokwethu Dlamini said the project would officially launch on March 21 at the Newcastle Town Hall, although the organisation has already begun assisting some families.
“We are relying completely on donations and the Newcastle Municipality at the moment, but we hope to change this by hosting competitions, and creating public events for the community,” she explained.
An example of the competitions the NPO will be hosting is their current raffle competition.
The winner of the raffle will win a kitchen unit that the group will design and install.
The winner will be announced at the launch of the organisation.
Long term goals of the organisation, include creating employment for more than 20 people in Newcastle, while subsidising the trade entrepreneurs of the town, such as plumbers and electricians.
The organisation will also concentrate on the development of skills among the youth.
“We want to encourage the youth to be a part of change both within this town, and the country,” said Nokwethu.
Andile dreams that the project will one day become a national success, allowing his team to assist people across the country.
This vision is the vision of a young man, who believes people should not live under upsetting conditions.
“We are put on this earth for a short period of time.
“I want to make a difference to the world with the short time I have,” said the 24-year-old.
Although the organisation is still in infancy, its ideology is proving to be a hit with the community and the municipality.
“We don’t want to rely solely on donations and competitions to make a difference, which is why we will be offering our services to the community, so that the project can raise funds for itself to sustain the constant give-back projects we want to host.”
For more information regarding the project, visit their Facebook page ‘Pimp My House SA’, or contact the organisation directly by emailing pimpmyhousesa@gmail.com or contacting 079 089 9047.
Raffle ticket sales end on March 20, and cost R40 each. Buy one, and who knows, you could win yourself a new kitchen unit, and help a suffering family get their own.
Ticket sales for the launch begin at R100 for general admission, and R150 for VIP admission. The programme will begin at 3pm and end late on Saturday March 21.
The community is invited to attend and learn more about the project, and be a part of this change. There will also be a special surprise event at the launch.
