ERMELO – An elderly man from New Ermelo is in dire need of the community’s help to rebuild his house.

According to one of the community members in the area, his house, built from clay, was damaged during the floods earlier this year.

The 70-year-old Msongelwa Phakathi has been staying in the collapsed house for the past few months.

Apparently, numerous calls to the ward councillor to seek help were to no avail.

The two-roomed house is cramped, with barely any space to move around.

“I have no other choice but to stay in the house, although every night when I go to bed, I’m scared the house will collapse on top of me,” he said.

Nkosi was one of the very first residents in the area, and his house is one of the very few clay houses in the area.

Community members tried to assist him, reporting the matter to the municipality as well as the ward councillor, but after a few months of no feedback, decided to help him themselves.

They plan to build him a one-room brick house and need about 600 bricks.

A local brickmaker, Calvin Thenjiwe, donated 150 bricks to get the project off the ground. He asked the community for donations to help rebuild Phakathi’s house.

Contact Calvin Thenjiwe on 072 319 6931 if you would like to help.