Partners of Slum Dwellers International (SDI) have helped residents of the Joe Slovo settlement in Cape Town, South Africa rebuild and improve their community after a March 8 fire.
Some 474 shacks were destroyed in the fire, leaving over 2,000 people homeless, according to an article on SDI’s website.
The Joe Slovo Community Committee approached one of SDI’s partners, iKhayalami, for emergency assistance.
iKhayalami and another SDI partner, the Community Organisation Resource Center (CORC), suggested that the disaster be used as an opportunity to rebuild the shacks in a more organized way. This would reduce the risk of future fires and improve living conditions for residents.
Residents agreed to postpone rebuilding their shacks until iKhayalami and CORC could demarcate lanes and block out sites for housing.
The organizations also set up a community tent to accommodate residents until they could rebuild.
The local government provided basic building kits to the community, and the two NGOs agreed to provide additional materials to families who allowed their sites to be blocked out
Some 60 families blocked their sites, and the NGOs helped them rebuild with new, better materials.
As a result, families in the community are returning to safer homes in a more planned environment.
Residents are continuing to approach the two organizations for help so that the entire community can be transformed.
SDI is a member of the Cities Alliance.
