Pretoria - The Molofo family in Moeka Village, Msholozi Section on the outskirts of Pretoria, who lost their home in a fire last December are the proud owners of a new house thanks to the generosity of a big hearted businessman.
Moretetele Local Municipality Mayor Masango Manyike handed over the house with two bedrooms, an open space living room and bathroom to the family yesterday.
Mother of two, 26 year-old Lucent Molofo, will live in it with her children and one sibling. She recalled the horror of the day the fire broke out.
"My neighbour called me around 3am to let me know that my house was on fire. I was at my grandmother's house in Stinkwater when it happened. I do not know the cause of the fire; maybe it was the electrical wiring," said Molofo.
Fortunately, at the time of the fire, there was no one inside the house.
She thanked all those who contributed towards building the house and said she hoped they would reach out to other families in need.
Having lost all their furniture in the fire, she said they would have to start from scratch. “We would appreciate any assistance, especially with a bed or a stove. It is painful to lose everything, more so now as I am not working. We are now living from hand to mouth and it is very expensive."
She said they spent a black Christmas but that changed yesterday when they got a new roof over their heads.
After news of the fire, Amandla Ethu Construction reached out to the family and offered to build a house free of charge.
The company’s Olga Masoga said they decided to step up, working together with the municipality.
"This time we wanted to give more to the community and we thank God we managed to build the family a house," said Masoga.
He said the cost of building the house was around R100 000.
The construction company was not the only good Samaritan to lend a helping hand to the family; a good neighbour offered them a place to stay until they had shelter.
And yesterday during the handing over of the house, Manyike said: "Besides unemployment in the community, people in this area are faced with housing and water problems.“
The family also received new couches.
Pretoria News