Diepsloot woman receives a delayed Mandela Day gift
DIEPSLOOT - Even from his grave, Nelson Mandela refused to let down a homeless Diepsloot woman who was scheduled to move into her new shack on 18 July, but did not after politics got in the way.
Instead, Maria Sambo moved into her new home seven days later when the harsh effects of the biting cold were put to an abrupt halt after she took possession of an intact shack. This after Fourways Review intervened on behalf of the mentally-challenged woman, as reported in Diepsloot politics vs Mandela Day, week ending 31 July.
Read Mandela Day vs politics in Diepsloot
Africa Tikkun, a non-governmental organisation, lent a hand after the DA failed to build the shack for the woman on 18 July. The DA claimed that the local housing department denied them the promised building materials they needed to use on Mandela Day to build Sambo a shack.
“The guys at the housing department in Diepsloot Ext 1 refused to hand over the building material, saying that Afrika Tikkun was building the shack for the woman,” said DA chairperson Thabo Phala.
Fourways Review contacted Afrika Tikkun CEO, Marc Lubner, after realising that the woman remained holed up in her dilapidated shack after Mandela Day. Lubner said he was not aware his organisation was expected to build a shack for the woman. He, however, contacted his Diepsloot social auxiliary officer, Jan Lebepe, and requested he erect the shack for the needy woman. Lebepe claimed it was a communication breakdown with the DA which delayed the construction of the shack.
“[Phala] had told me on Wednesday [15 July] that they will construct the shack on Saturday [18 July]. He never came back to us after they failed to do so. We only got to know about it after Fourways Review contacted our CEO, but we are happy that we managed to build the structure for the woman,” said Lebepe.
Fourways Review visited the smiling Sambo soon after her shack was erected and found her packing her stuff to move into her new home. Her neighbours stood by admiring her new home.
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