Build A House For Bongiwe And Her Family

OVERVIEW
- Bongiwe is caring for two very young children and an elderly, sick grandmother in a dilapidated shack. The family struggle for food and clothing every month.
- Bongiwe lost her parents at a young age and has faced many great hardships in her life, but despite this she remains a kind, goodhearted and positive person.
- This campaign will provide her and her family with one of the most basic human rights, a safe home.

FULL STORY
Bongiwe Mabaleka is a 22 year-old woman living in Hammarsdale, South Africa. She grew up as an orphan after tragically losing both her parents by the age of four. Her mother died after complications following a stroke and her father was poisoned.

From this very young age, she was raised in a children’s home in a rural area of Kwazulu-Natal. Despite these massive disadvantages, Bongiwe grew up to be a positive, kind and hardworking individual and graduated with good marks in school.

After giving birth to two babies, Oluhle (3) and Samkelo (2), Bongiwe and the father of her children separated and he does not contribute in any way to the family. In a desperate situation, Bongiwe and her children were taken in by her very elderly and sick grandmother who is suffering with tuberculosis and severe asthma.

The family still reside at her crumbling, one-room shack to this day.

The condition of this rundown structure is truly awful. The old roof is riddled with holes and it is in real danger of collapsing in on the family. On rainy days water pours inside leaving the place soaking wet and making living in the house nearly impossible. The difficulty in properly drying the walls and the family's possessions has resulted in the building developing significant fungus growth which presents a serious health risk, particularly to Bongiwe’s young children and infirm grandmother.



This campaign hopes to raise a modest sum of money to build Bongiwe and her family a very simple 4-room house. This will be a safe home in which she can take care of Oluhle and Samkelo and her sick grandmother. In giving towards this project you will help ensure that Bongiwe's two young children do not have to face the same hardships that she has endured in life.

The total required for this project would be R72,344.70 which is roughly £3900. We have already purchased the land and engaged the services of a deeply trustworthy and skilled local builder with whom I and other members of the community have personally worked with in the past.

Below are two quotes that break down exactly how your kind donations will be spent, including all labour costs and materials.

The sooner we raise these funds, the sooner we can get Bongiwe and her family out of this desperate and dangerous situation.

I first met Bongiwe 15 years ago when she was just 7 years-old and I have always been impressed by her strength to carry on living in the face of great difficulties and her positive and caring attitude towards others. I know how hard she is working to give her children a better life than the one she had and any help at all that you can give in service of this goal would be very deeply appreciated.

I will be running a 10K at the end of August to try to raise as much money as I can for this project and I have already invested a lot of my own money to purchase the land on which this house will be built.

Please give whatever you can, every small donation helps and this campaign could really change the lives of a wonderful family.