PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - A group of Wittedrift High School learners jumped in to lend a helping hand to build a home for a Kranshoek resident who lost everything in the 2017 fires.
The youngsters visited the building site last week to assist in various tasks from digging a trench for the water pipes to assisting in erecting the roof. The teenagers did this as part of their school’s community service.
The house they worked on is for resident Presta Adams whose home went up in flames, along with everything in it, during last year’s June fires.
Her home is being rebuilt as part of the Plett Fire Fund initiative, born after a group of residents involved in relief efforts were so touched by the difficulties the residents of Kranshoek – a very poor community on the outskirts of town – had to endure during this time, that they felt compelled to intervene.
They then started the NPO Plett Fire Fund, through which they have since raised hundreds of thousands of rands including about R500 000 from the Lubner Fund and about R300 000 from the mayoral disaster fund. These funds are being used not only to rebuild homes but support those who have been affected by the fires.
The current construction is the second rebuild project. The first was completed in June this year.
“The current home is going up very quickly. It has only been three-and-a-half weeks and the roof is already on,” said the fund's Marius Venter.
He added that it was great having the Wittedrift school team on the site helping out. “They not only did their part for their community but learnt quite a bit about construction during the process.”
The current construction is the second rebuild project. The first was completed in June this year.
The youngsters dug a trench for the water pipes.
Each of the homes will be 50sq m, including all the amenities needed to live comfortably.
Venter said they are using a product called Stumblebloc to construct the homes. He explained that the bricks fit together like Lego and is very easy to work with. It does not require specialised skills to use and therefore the community and the families are part of the building process.
The home is set to cost about R220 000.
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