In April 2022, Kwa-Zulu Natal experienced heavy and destructive rainfall, causing fatal flooding and horrendous damage.
The death toll was around 450 people.
Thousands of homes were totally destroyed and the infrastructure was horrifically damaged, including several major roads being completely washed away!
Gross mismanagement of funds by the government and already severely degraded infrastructure means the community is still feeling the effects of this devastation.
As a result of working in the communities with the young people, the Crossroads team has also been partnering with 21 ladies in Mahika, who are the caregivers of some of these vulnerable children. All of the ladies are living with HIV and lost their homes in the floods of April 2022.
The team is helping these ladies build new homes, with the aim to then develop the house building into a community-run business. Crossroads provided start-up capital loans, and all the tools to start the work.
But the ladies themselves own the project, make the decisions, and have been working hard together to make the bricks. They make 1000 bricks every 2 weeks, which is enough for a two-bedroom house.
Crossroads then raises the money for local builders to put in good foundations, a roof, doors, windows, rendering, and plastering, so it moves from not just being a house but being a home.
The ladies voted unanimously for the first house to be built for Mama Labulani. She is really excited, as the house is warm and clean. She says that the best thing about it is that, for the first time, she has a door that can actually lock!