iafrica.com reader Fuzz Loubser responds to Alan Cameron's piece 'Have you moved shack?' with an experience of his own. And a challenge for iafrica.com readers...

At the outset I would lay down a challenge to every South African who employs a domestic worker or gardener to make the time and effort to see where their employee lives. Obviously, I am not talking about the room(s) in the backyard where he/she stays during the week, but the place that they call home, where their family is. In all probability it is in one of the settlements close to the town or city in which you stay.

Some years ago, my wife and I had replaced some household items that had become a little old ? carpets, furniture, fridge/freezer, etc. (some of the items were more than 20 years old but still in a serviceable condition). Our domestic worker indicated that she would like the items that we were discarding. We arranged to load the items on my trailer and to take them to her home in one of the settlements north of Pretoria.

And so came the first surprise ? our domestic worker stayed almost 70 kms from our home; a distance that she travelled every day since she had school-going children to look after (she is a widow). She informed us that she commenced her journey to work every morning at around 5am so that she could be at work by 8.30am. The reason why the journey took so long is that it was a combination of foot, bus, train, bus and foot since this was the cheapest way to get to and from work. She left work around 3.30 pm and seldom arrived home before 7.00 pm (in other words, around 7 hours a day was spent going to and from work). The consequence of this experience and information is that we decided to give her a specific transport allowance separate from her salary that would allow her to reduce her travel time to about two hours in each direction.

When we arrived at our destination we were shocked to see the place that she calls home ? a wood and iron shack that was spotlessly clean, but clearly a structure that was at the mercy of the elements. Holes in the roof and poor drainage meant that when it rained there was probably as much water inside as outside. It also seemed to us that even the slightest breeze would blow the roof off.

We were introduced to her neighbours who were all very interested that we were visiting our domestic worker ? everybody was very friendly and there was clearly a vibrant community spirit notwithstanding the poverty around us. Some of the neighbours had better dwellings as both husband and wife worked. Of course, many folk were unemployed especially the youth in the area with little or no hope of being employed in the formal sector of the economy.

'One of the proudest moments of my life'

Anyway, to cut a long story short, my wife and I were deeply affected by our experience and we decided that we had to do all in our power to assist our domestic worker to get better accommodation. In discussion with her we ascertained that she did not want to move from the area because she was part of that community. We decided to see if we could scrape together enough money to build her a more permanent dwelling on the site that had been allocated to her ? she had shown us a 'document' that apparently gave her ownership of the site.

Through her we made contact with a 'builder' in the area. This was a person who assisted people in the community to build their homes on a bit-by-bit basis. I met with the builder and ascertained that in fact he did know quite a bit about building (I have worked in the construction and property industry for about 30 years) and that he could perform most building activities required to build the type of simple structure we envisaged. We would not be required to do any plumbing as there was no household water connection at that stage and no sewerage system. Each plot had its own 'long drop'. However, there was an electrical connection and we would need to find a suitable electrician to assist.

Initially my wife and I decided that we could afford to spend around R20 000 to try and provide a basic structure adjacent to the existing wood and iron dwelling which could be suitably repaired to provide better accommodation. We commenced building towards the end of 2006. For the next 18 months, I visited the site at least once a month to pay the builder and monitor the progress as well as discuss any problems that had arisen and slowly the new structure took shape. As time went by, our financial situation improved and we were able to make a greater financial contribution.

At the time of writing, our domestic worker is staying in a brick house fully plastered and painted, with electric power (still no water connection and sewerage system). The house has five large rooms with a total area of approximately 90 sq metres and our total contribution has been around R65 000. The total cost of the house has been about R75 000, the balance of R10 000 being the cost of the window frames, front door and other sundry items that were provided by the family. One of the proudest moments of my life was when our domestic worker and her three children could move into their new house. The dwelling is obviously quite rustic but it is safe and dry. Also, as time goes by we continue to upgrade and improve the house.

Look for opportunities

In conclusion I would like to stress that I am not writing this to blow my own trumpet but to encourage my fellow South Africans to get more involved with the people around them ? those people with whom they have daily contact, who faithfully provide their labour in our homes to look after us, our children and our gardens. I do not want this to become a political issue but rather to share my joy of assisting someone who is in a much poorer position than I was and to be able to make a positive contribution to their lives.

I know that not everyone has the means to do what we were able to do, but I would encourage everyone to look for opportunities to assist with the means that they have available ? e.g. paying for driving lessons to help someone to get a valid driver's licence, a computer course to develop computer literacy (beware of bogus organisations), etc.

(By the way, most builders will tell you that you cannot build a 90 sq metre house for R75 000 ? I have discovered that with careful planning and personal involvement, it IS possible. It may not be in terms of the National Building Regulations, but it is streets ahead of many of the RDP houses that are being provided!).

Interestingly enough, I am now assisting a friend of mine to provide dwellings for his domestic workers in the same area north of Pretoria. One house is already complete and we are awaiting the plans for another. I trust that this will be an encouragement to likeminded South Africans to get involved right down at grass roots level and to not just leave it to the government. It takes time and commitment but you will be richly rewarded when you experience the joy and thankfulness of the people that you are helping.

Can you relate to Fuzz's story? Do you have a South African story of your own? Mail us and, if we like it, we'll publish it!