Habitat for Humanity South Africa, the local arm of the international organisation of the same name, recently handed over the keys to 10 brand new houses in Katlehong on the East Rand, thanks to SAS and other corporates, including Absa, HP, Telkom, TCM and Software AG.
Each company involved in the project financed building materials for the houses, and the people of SAS, during the last week of November, lent their hands to building the houses in time for the handover ceremony that took place on 30 November.
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that is dedicated to facilitating the provision of quality housing for people living in disadvantaged communities. Apart from organising the building of the houses, Habitat for Humanity also provides a complete programme for the people who receive the houses, teaching them about home ownership.
"Habitat for Humanity is all about creating sustainable housing solutions around their vision of 'a world in which every person has a decent place to live'," says Karima Cowan, BEE Manager at SAS South Africa. "At SAS, we believe sustainable development is of vital importance in helping impoverished and underprivileged people in our country change their lives for the better, and we are proud to have been able to help Habitat for Humanity on this most worthwhile project."
One of the most innovative aspects of the Habitat for Humanity project is the fact that the homeowners get involved in the building of the house with the assistance of volunteers, which gives each new homeowner a real sense of pride and achievement in their new home. These people are then expected to help at least four other families in the community to build their own home.
Cowan concludes: "The process followed by Habitat creates an ongoing, stable and sustainable process that not only ensures people have quality houses to live in, but also transforms communities and helps to build our nation."
Since its inception in 1996, Habitat for Humanity has built more than 1 500 houses in underprivileged areas across the country.
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