Helpers put up 22 new homes in shanty town
Volunteers boost world’s poor
Published:
A TEAM of kind-hearted North-east volunteers travelled thousands of miles to one of the world’s poorest areas.
Their mission was to build 22 new homes in just one week.
More than 20 people from Udny, Pitmedden and Newmachar made the journey to Cape Town.
They teamed up with volunteers from all over the UK as well as South Africa.
Stephen Reid, 51, a design manager with a Dyce-based helicopter firm, said living conditions were pretty poor when they arrived.
He said: “People were living in shacks made from wood or bits of corrugated iron.
“The homes had outside toilets and the living area, bedroom and kitchen was all in one. The new homes we built are two-bedroom concrete homes with tiled roofs.
“The homes have two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.”
Stephen took part in the Habitat for Humanity community-build project along with his son Matthew, 21, a student of accounting and finance.
In order to get a home the residents have to put in a required amount of “sweat equity”.
Stephen said: “This helps build a relationship between the volunteers and the residents and makes the home more personal to them.
“The people are fantastic, they just welcome you into the community with open arms and what little they have, they share.”
He learned of the shanty towns scheme through the Christian website UCB and decided to volunteer.
This is the second time he has taken part in the project.
Habitat for Humanity helps provide homes for families regardless of their creed or religion.
The initiative has reached out to 92 countries and built more than 250,000 houses.
A total of 113 people from the UK took part in the project along with volunteers from South Africa.
