December 14, 2005
By Tshepiso Seopa
AFTER living in a shack for more than a decade, 65-year-old Anna Msizi will this year be celebrating Christmas in a four-roomed house members of her community helped to build.
Msizi is a beneficiary of the Letsema Project in Ivory Park.
The project, part of the People's Housing Process, is a joint initiative of the City of Johannesburg and the provincial government. Through it people are helped to build their own houses, with financial assistance from the government.
"This year on Christmas day I do not have to worry about anything at all," said an excited Msizi. "I remember last year on Christmas day it was raining and instead of celebrating the day I spent it sorting things out in my shack making sure that my possessions did not get wet.
Kgabo Abutane from Sinethemba young community construction company landing a helping hand
"This time around I have the privilege of enjoying the day, raining or not. As for my children, they will now have a decent place to call home, instead of a shack. I have lived here for more than 16 years - I had my last child here in this shack," she said.
Ivory Park residents, City officials and councillors pitched in to build four new houses in one day as part of the Letsema Project, on Friday, 9 December. Letsema is a Setswana word that roughly translated means, "a community working together in a task that is too difficult for one family, without requiring any favour in return".
According to Makoaila Mokoka, the Letsema project manager, "Letsema is looking at pensioners, the disabled, single mothers and child-headed families [relating to] World Aids Day and the 16 Days of Activism campaign against woman and child abuse.
"The beneficiaries of the houses are selected on a sweat-equity basis, which means they are also part of the building process, together with the community," Mokoka said.
"[However] in this case we made an exception for one of the beneficiaries, who is a pensioner - she was not able to help build a house."
The Letsema Project works within the People's Housing Process to help those who cannot build their own houses, in Doornkop, Orange Farm, Ivory Park and Diepsloot.
"The department is working closely with ward councillors in the areas were we have Letsema to identify people whose houses are going to be built. The houses are compliant with regulations and qualified brick layers are used as team leaders of the whole process," Mokoka said.
Houses built through the People's Housing Process are bigger than those provided by the Reconstruction and Development Programme. The former are 42 square metres in size, while the latter are 30 square metres.
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