Gogo Luvhengo Maluleke, a 77-year-old mentally ill resident of Magangeni village near Elim, bade farewell to her dilapidated, leaking RDP house after its first thorough renovation since its construction in 2000. A group of Good Samaritans from the Elimites Brotherhood Club (EBC), a non-profit organisation, deserves credit for bringing joy to the family of eight, who were presented with their freshly renovated house on Saturday, 2 September.
The handover ceremony was attended by more than 60 people, including Hosi Hlekani Mkhari of the Njakanjaka traditional authority and many others.
The Light Giving Foundation identified the Maluleke family in July of this year, and the EBC took it upon themselves to raise funds and oversee the extensive repair work on the Maluleke home.
Gogo Maluleke, the owner of the RDP house, expressed her gratitude, saying that they had endured years of sleeping with dishes to catch rainwater that leaked through the roof during the rainy seasons. "I am grateful for what they did for me and my family. We were forced to sleep in one spot where the roof did not leak so much to avoid getting wet while we slept. I didn't know what I was going to do, because my husband passed away a long time ago, and no one came to assist me after that," she said.
The EBC was initially established as a social club of 40 men from the Elim community who grew up together years ago, but they expanded their mission to address the social challenges facing the greater Elim community. Mr. Max Mpuzana, the chairperson of the EBC, said they were proud and very happy to be able to make life a little better for the family. "Firstly, we repaired the leaking roof, plastered and painted the walls, installed new doors, and constructed a ledge to divert rainwater away from the house. The floors inside the house that were uneven were dug up and redone next. Then we added a new ceiling and electricity to the main part of their home," he explained.
The EBC also constructed a brand-new pit latrine and generously donated school uniforms, food items, a refrigerator, clothing, and beds to the Maluleke family, along with paid-for optometric check-ups for those family members whose health is not so good anymore.
Mpuzana said that the successful completion of this project had been made possible through the generous contributions of individuals and companies.