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Making Everyday a Mandela Day...Extreme Make Over Home Edition

Making Everyday a Mandela Day...Extreme Make Over Home Edition

Date: 2015-07-24
In keeping with the theme of Mandela Day this Ward 69 Councillor Brandon Pillay embarked on a project that will change the life of an elderly grandmother for life.

As part of the Mandela Day 67 minutes programme in Ward 69 councillor Pillay approached a very kind individual who agreed to make a difference in the life of Gogo Pholwane.

Gogo Pholwane is 76 years old and lives in a 1 room RDP house in Lamontville North West, next to Havenside and Mobeni Heights. She did not have electricity when she moved in 1994 over the years she cried for electricity and she was forced to use candles and a paraffin burner which caused her to become asthmatic. In 2011 she had her electricity connected when Cllr Pillay came into office.

A visit to her last Sunday found Gogo crying about how cold it was and she can't afford plastering her home the house was falling apart. She didn't have a sink in her kitchen as these were starter homes given in 1994 and she did not have the means to make any alterations. It's a one room house so she made a partition with curtains for her bedroom. Immediately this became an idea for Mandela Day, As Mandela Day is about giving hope to a hopeless situation.

What started off as being just some minor renovations and a sink, turned out to be the greatest dream come true for Gogo, our very own Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Gogo Pholwane is getting a new house with two bedrooms a lounge, kitchen and toilet and bath no more asbestos roof, but a tiled roof with plastering inside and out. She has been given a new lease on life, the demolition took place on Sunday and the walls are already being put up.

Watch this space for the update on Gogo's new house.