From a one-roomed shack to a three-bedroom brick and mortar home, this is how one South African family has been given the opportunity to create a new life and a more positive future.
Calgro M3 is a Gauteng-based property developing company with an inspiring motto “Building legacies. Changing lives.” And this is precisely why a woman named Julia Naila and her 15-year old son Sihle’s lives are about to be transformed in a way they could never have once dreamed possible.
Currently Julia lives in a shack near a mine dump in Tshepisong, just a few kilometres away from the Calgro M3 Witpoortjie Residential Development Project. The shack has no ablution facilities or electricity. It is against this inhospitable backdrop that she lovingly tends to her teenage son who has failing kidneys and requires a transplant. “Last year Hot 91.9 Radio, through their charity initiative Wingz of Change, heard about Julia’s plight and wanted to help her,” says Gerhard Botha representing Calgro M3 on the Witpoortjie Development.
Initially, Hot 91.9’s Hottest Breakfast Show hosts Darren Scott, Jeremy Mansfield and Hayley Owen called for listeners to nominate a person who they felt was in need of a home. “Julia was chosen because her plight was so drastic. She was trying to look after her very ill son in absolute squalor. He requires 9 hours of dialysis at home daily for his failing kidneys and this needs to be done under hygenic and sterile condtions,” says Hayley. “There was no doubt in our minds that Julia was the ideal candidate to receive a proper home to live in.”
Now that they had found Julia, the Hot 91.9 DJs put another call out on their show. This time it was to ask the public to donate everything that is required to build a house – materials, building supplies and the services required to construct it. They ran the drive on Mandela Day in 2015 and the response from their listeners was overwhelming. “We received donations to cover absolutely everything we would need to construct Julia’s home, from the building supplies to landscaping, plumbing, electrical and even all the basic furniture,” Hayley says.
All that was required was somewhere to build the house and to donate the labour required to construct it. That came quite quickly when Hot 91.9 approached Calgro M3’s CEO Ben Pierre Malherbe. He immediately said yes and found an available 280m2 stand in the company’s new Witpoortjie Development. “They also agreed to provide the labour needed to build the house for Julia,” says Hayley. “Without Calgro M3’s generous donation of the stand and construction labour, Julia’s dream to own a home may not have come to fruition.”
“We are delighted to have been given this opportunity,” explains Calgro M3 Managing Director, Wikus Lategan. “Calgro M3 believes in giving back to the communities in which it operates and this is the embodiment of our tagline: Building legacies. Changing lives. We can’t think of a better recipient for this land and our efforts than Julia Naila and her son.”
The site is located in close proximity to a number of important amenities such as the Leratong Hospital and proposed Leratong Mall. “This means that Julia will find it easier to get her son to the hospital for his dialysis treatments and impending kidney transplant,” states Gerhard.
There are also future public transport infrastructural nodes planned, which may include a passenger railway line and station as well as convenient taxi stops. Plus, the site is within a short distance to Roodepoort (5km), Kagiso (2km) and Soweto (5km).
“When Hayley and I showed Julia a 70m2 show house, which will look similar to the home we’re building her, she was quite overwhelmed and relieved. Once she had overcome her initial surprise, she asked for some minor changes to the layout,” says Gerhard.
The house plans were ready last week and Julia signed her deed of sale and transfer documents on 12th February at the Calgro M3 offices with Hot 91.9’s Hayley Owen in attendance. “It was an exciting moment for Julia and we were all swept up in the moment,” Hayley says.
Construction will now commence on Julia’s house which, once built, will be valued at around R715 000.00, a substantial donation in order to make substantial changes to this family’s life.
“I am so excited and happy because I was looking to build my own house but struggled to find money. My son is always in hospital and so all my money goes towards taking care of him. I am so grateful for that lucky day on Mandela Day’s 67 minutes last year,” says Julia. “I want to say thank you to Tanya Landsberg, my employer who nominated me for the house. If it wasn’t for her I would not be looking forward to a new and better life with my son. I will always remember Tanya. When I lie in bed at night I think about her. I am so grateful for my employer.”
Calgro M3 and Hot 91.9 plan to have the house finished for Julia and her son to move in on 18th July this year which is, appropriately, Mandela Day. On this promising occasion, a mother and son will finally get the chance to build on their own legacy in comfort with a roof over their heads and a solid foundation beneath their feet.
