Habitat for Humanity

Last Friday I was involved in building a house for a lady called Cynthia, who lives in the Mfuleni Township, Cape Town.

This wooden shack is where Cynthia lives with her four children.

I worked with a charity called Habitat for Humanity. During the week, eight houses were built by volunteers working alongside the home owners. Although they are given the house, they have to own the land upon which it is built, attend a training course for financial management and other practical skills and assist three other homeowners in similar projects, before being able to build their own house. The volunteers, in this case came from eight churches in Cape Town who each raised R55,000 for the materials and provided the labour for one week.

When I arrived on Friday morning the house looked like this...

By lunchtime the roof was finished and the path had been laid and set.

Then we planted a tree and flowers along the path.

These were the tools that Henreitte and I used; pieces of aluminium. Rather rudimentary, but surprisingly adequate for the task of loosening the sandy soil and removing weeds and rubbish.

The township is a sprawling mass of small houses and wooden shacks. Most of the red-roofed houses in the foreground are habitat homes.

Some of the beautiful children, with a teenage volunteer, playing nearby.

The best bit! Gathering to pray with Cynthia and give her a Bible in her first language; Kausa, signed by every volunteer. What a privilege to be there!