Pensioner gets her own room

At the age of 61, Lesega Dladla finally has a room of her own, after sharing a bedroom with about 12 other family members. It was made using alternative building methods.
LESEGA Dladla, a 61-year-old pensioner, was taciturn on the morning of Tuesday, 6 December, when Joburg’s portfolio head of housing, Dan Bovu, handed her the keys to a modest, external bedroom in the front yard of her parents’ home in White City, Soweto.

MMC for housing Dan BovuMMC for housing Dan Bovu: Women should receive the necessary helpDladla belongs to Soweto Women in Construction, which was subcontracted by Ikhaya Futurehouse Management to build the room using alternative building methods. News that she would get her own external bedroom came as a surprise and a shock for Dladla, as she was already a pensioner and had given up to the idea of having a house to call her own, she said.

The room is built in the front yard of her deceased parents’ home in the deprived neighbourhood of White City. It is thermally insulated and its walls are eco-friendly. Ikhaya Futurehouse said the building was sustainable because of its insulating properties. It would be warm in winter and stay cool in summer.

To build, Ikhaya Futurehouse uses pre-fabricated panels with an expanded polystyrene core. The walls are constructed by placing the panels in a grid of starter bars set in the foundation, wire tied together, braced and then conventionally plastered.

Dladla’s original family home was built with brick and mortar and has an elephant roof, which was the traditional roofing system used by the apartheid government in its township housing projects. It was built during the apartheid years, when Soweto residents were allocated housing based on their ethnicity. The suburbs of White City, Senaoane, Zola and Jabulani, among others, were earmarked for Zulu- and Xhosa-speaking people.

Construction
The family home has three rooms, one of which is a bedroom that is now shared between about 12 family members. Dladla’s room was built by women and took about two weeks to construct.

Speaking at the handover, Bovu said it was the City’s plan to bring dignity to those who were previously “marginalised and oppressed”, particularly women. “We must ensure by all means that women are able to do what they aim for in life and that they receive the necessary help.”

A back roomLesega Dladla's new room stands in front of the main houseThe City was delighted at forging a new partnership with the private sector in its attempts to eradicate the housing backlog, he added.

Nonceba Molwele, the portfolio head of health and social development, said the partnership between Ikhaya Futurehouse and Soweto Women in Construction had not only emancipated women from disadvantaged backgrounds, but had given them lifelong skills.

“Together we can do more to better the lives of our communities.”

She said the beneficiaries of the buildings were registered for the City’s social services package. “I am happy that we are able to give this family a house at a time when we are celebrating the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children. This family is most deserving because they are destitute and have disabled children.”

Soweto Women in Construction is a private enterprise that manufactures building materials and renovates homes, repairs structural defects, installs paving and builds new houses.

Dladla, who is the last born of 11 children, said she was ecstatic about having her own personal room outside the main house. “I never thought this would be. I’m very happy,” was all she could say, as she basked in the ululation and singing of the members of Soweto Women in Construction.