ALI MPHAKI
LESIAH Dladla is one of the happiest grannies in Soweto.
The 61-year-old, who lives in a three-room house in White City Jabavu, received keys to an extra room built by the Soweto Women in Construction Co-operative in conjunction with Future House, a company which specialises in manufacturing eco-friendly building materials.
The two companies joined hands to build her an outside room, which was completed yesterday. Dladla has been sharing her three-room house with 12 other family members.
Reggie Nyanda, of Future House, said they decided to build an extra room for the family after they were alerted by one of Dladla’s neighbours.
“What touched us is the fact that MaDladla is living with four mentally challenged children in her small house.
“We initially wanted to build her two extra rooms, but due to space constraints, had to settle for one room. We used our walling panels, which boast reinforced steel to make the room cooler in summer and warmer in winter,” said Nyanda.
Ntsoaki Letsoalo, chairwoman of Soweto Women in Construction, said they had volunteered to build the additional room. They supported the idea of giving people decent shelter, and in the process of building, their members received on-the-job training.