Orange Farm –
to build houses
Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
A four-roomed house was once an impossible dream for an unemployed single mother living in an Orange Farm shack.
But this week Sinaila Shabani and her four children moved into their dream house – built by 22 volunteer Irish students and residents of the sprawling settlement near Johannesburg.
Shabani, a Tanzanian by birth, met her South African husband while he was in exile. They returned to South Africa in 1995, but he left her soon after for another woman.
Since then she has been living in a one-roomed shack with their children, Zainabo (14), Seiboni (11), Lehlonolo (7) and Abdul (5) – all of them sharing one mattress.
A Christian housing ministry, Habitat for Humanity, arrived in Orange Farm in May and, in conjunction with the Arekopaneng (seSotho for “let us join hands”) community project, is building and improving homes in Orange Farm.
Since it arrived in South Africa, Habitat for Humanity has built 35 houses in Alexandra, 40 in Valley Trust, 35 in Orange Farm and 40 in Piesang River. It expects to build another 100 by the end of the year. Worldwide, Habitat has built more than 70 000 houses.
The simple brick houses are sold to participants in the project for between R15 000 and R18 000 each. Residents say it is better than the “RDP [Reconstruction and Development Programme] houses” built with government subsidies because they have bigger rooms, dividing walls all the way to the roof, a separate bathroom and toilet, and ceilings.
Every morning Shabani (30) goes to work at the Habitat housing project, where she is employed as a brickmaker. She gets paid up to R200 a month, depending on how many bricks she makes. Habitat’s long-term goal in South Africa – “no more shacks” – could mean she will keep this job for many years.
Last Friday, Shabani was among 20 Orange Farm Habitat families who received the keys to their houses.
The home-owners use the salary they receive for working on Habitat projects to pay a deposit of 5% and monthly instalments over a maximum of 10 years.
Habitat project co-ordinator Debra Bhokela says the families are selected according to their level of need, their voluntary participation in the project and their ability to repay the no- interest bond. “Humanity also assists home-owners with fundraising for their houses” she says. The monthly payments are deposited in the project’s revolving “fund for humanity” to buy materials to build more houses.
Shabani said because of financial constraints, a friend she had met at a local church, Maholane Kasm – an Orange Farm Muslim school teacher – will pay her monthly instalment of R200 and her R850 deposit.
“Thanks to Kasm, who is also paying for my children’s school fees,” said the delighted Shabani.
Irish student, Steven McFadden, said he was shocked at the crowded conditions in Orange Farm and was determined to provide shelters and to change the lives of destitute and homeless people in South Africa.
Coulister Sera (68), shares one room with 10 children and is unemployed and often has no money to buy food.
Her participation in the housing project has earned Sera some income and her dedicated was rewarded last week when she received the keys to her house.
“I am very excited with the new house. My life will never be the same again,” Sera said.
Berenise Thame (65) was delighted that her new house was made of brick, as the shack she shared with six childen had been destroyed by fire and rebuilt six times.
She mixes cement at the Habitat project, despite her poor health. “IThis work is very tough for me, but I don’t have any choice.”
However, she said it was worth it, as her new home will bring improvements in her life.
“Visitors never came to my shack. Now I am happy I have an adequate shelter and my relatives and friends can visit,” she said.