OVC Upgrades

Habitat for Humanity SA Orphan and Vulnerable-Headed Household Project (OVC)

It is reported that Khayelitsha, an informal settlement just outside of Cape Town is home to over 14 000 orphans – children who are left to care for themselves and their younger siblings when their parents have either tragically passed away or abandoned them. As a result, these children don’t have access to their most basic human right of a decent home that provides a safe place to live, play and learn. 

Habitat SA has partnered with Mama Rosie, founder of Baphumelele Children’s Home in Khayelitsha to assist the young families that fall outside of her capacity/reach. Bhaphumelele’s vision is to provide a temporary shelter for these vulnerable/orphaned children and young adults with chronic diseases and HIV/Aids, and to provide skills development for the unemployed, early childhood care, alleviation of poverty, and healthcare information to the community in Khayelitsha and its surrounds, with the hope that the lives of everyone that they touch can make a difference within society.

Family Interviews, home assessments, and needs assessments are conducted by Baphumelele’s outreach worker and the profiles/families identified as most critically in need of shelter-intervention are forwarded to Habitat SA to assist with raising funds and facilitating construction and social development.

Housing Conditions

Many of the young families that are referred to Ma Rosie don’t have proper shelter – they live in informal structures (shacks), with no electricity and very old broken pieces of furniture. They draw water for washing and cooking a few meters away from their home. Their house condition is putting their lives at risk, especially in winter as they become sick due to the cold and the damp that creeps in through gaps in the walls and roof-sheeting.

The water table in Khayelitsha is very high and many houses have been built in and around retention ponds. Without proper foundations of waterproofing, many of the households find themselves battling with water ingress from various sources during the Cape’s winds and rain.

Temporary Shelter Upgrades/Builds

In November last year, thanks to the funding received by individuals, three structures were built in Site C and RR. The Nutec houses are asbestos-free, water- and fire-resistant fibre-cement structures that provide insulation, ventilation and security. As Habitat SA continues to raise awareness and mobilise action around the need, we look forward to building more homes in March and will continue through 2020 to bring strength, stability and self-reliance to these families, one household at a time.

We are deeply grateful to @Home’s social good initiative “Heart of @Home” for their continued support of our project through the donation of furniture as Ma Rosie provides us with ‘wishlists’ received from the families that we build for.

What can you do to invest in these young families’ lives?

Please assist in any way you can to make the living conditions of vulnerable children more bearable. We would be deeply grateful for the donation of funds or furniture toward the Orphan-headed Household Project so that we can extend our impact far beyond these two homes.

You can read more about Mama Rosie and Baphumelele’s incredible work: http://baphumelele.org.za/about-us/