Tearful mum of 6 describes what it’s like to finally have a roof over her head
Intervention came after the uPhongolo Disaster Team visited the family following the hail storm that destroyed their one room mud shack last month.
A mother of six (6) living in an informal shack in the KwaLubisi area in Pongola, breathed a sigh of relief when she was handed the keys to her new house last week.
Thandi Masango, a 49-year old woman who depends on a social grant to put food on the table for herself and her six children between the ages of 4-to-28 years (one of them aged 8 years is living with a disability), will sleep in a comfortable home after being handed over a new one bedroom house with an outside pit toilet.
This came after the uPhongolo Disaster Team visited the family following the hail storm that destroyed their one room muddy shack last month.
After seeing the deplorable state of the shack they lived in, the Disaster team assessed the situation and immediately mobilized uPhongolo Municipalities Operation Sukuma Sakhe (OSS) team.
This feat was then achieved with the help of OSS intervention, integrated government departments and local business people who got involved in building the family a house suitable for human habitation.
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The mother of six cried tears of joy when she received the keys for the house from the Mayor of uPhongolo Municipality, Cllr Winnie Nhlabathi.
Ms Masango said her family was grateful for the house and groceries.
“I feel honoured and blessed that my children will have a proper roof over their heads. Today feels like I’m entering a new world, I am very grateful” she said.
Cllr Nhlabathi thanked everyone who pitched in on the project and said the municipality will also donate to the family a new bed and buy them groceries before they move into their new home.
She also applauded the work of the South African National Defense Force who were the main driving force behind the project.
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“Stories like this need to be told, because people have stigmatized the SANDF as people who fight wars and they have no conscience. Nowadays we witness them giving back to the community a lot,” said the Mayor.
SASSA also committed themselves to giving the family food parcels for the next three months.
