Building a new future for a deserving family
The television team will be here on Wednesday and the project finished by Thursday. For the de Oliverias, those years of sacrifice are paying off handsomely.
Home is where the heart is. And when that home gets a free makeover it means rebuilding a future for the De Oliveria family of Cornhill Street.
It was an emotional Mirriam de Oliveria who learned that her entry had been chosen for the Build It renovation project, Sinawe, through Nobungani Build It.
“All I can say is God bless everyone who has helped us achieve this dream – with God everything is possible,” Mirriam told the Courier.
She and husband, Fernando, (a butcher), acquired the property at 28 Cornhill Street in 2005 and the couple and their then three children lived in a caravan while they built their cottage themselves. “Times were tough but we were building our dream – it was a bit of a squeeze in the caravan,” said Mirriam who also laid bricks.
The house was completed in 2010 but they could not put in a ceiling and or complete the finishing touches.
“But it was our house and we lived there. We also had a fourth child – we were blessed.”
Encouraged by her colleague at the Dundee Court, Anita da Silva, friends from the Baptist Church and others, Mirriam entered the Sinawe competition at Build It which is a national initiative, linked to a programme currently aired on ETV.
Kegan Speirs of Nobungani Build It explained that this was the group’s way of giving back to deserving people within the local communities.
“Mirriam had to fill in a comprehensive form, complete with photos, explaining why her house should be chosen for a makeover. There was also an in loco inspection of the house to confirm all the information.”
And last Monday Kegan stunned Mirriam when he called to give her the good news. There were around ten local entries but the judges decided hers was the most deserving. Not wasting time, a team of local contractors, approved by Build It, descended on 28 Cornhill Street to start work.
A ceiling will be put in, the roof fixed and waterproofed, the walls painted and all internal and external locks changed. The television team will be here on Wednesday and the project finished by Thursday. For the de Oliverias, those years of sacrifice are paying off handsomely.
