MEDIA INVITATION TO ATTEND WOMEN’S BUILD LAUNCH IN NEW REST

10AM on Wednesday 1 August 2007

Two hundred women volunteers, and a few men, will gather in New Rest, Gugulethu, on Wednesday to help build 10 houses in nine days to celebrate Women’s Month.

Women’s Build 2007 is an initiative of the National Department of Housing, the Western Cape Department of Housing and Local Government, state housing agency Thubelisha, the National Home Builders Registration Council and South African Women in Construction (SAWIC). Corporate sponsors include Standard Bank and BP Gypsum.

The 10 houses to be constructed during Women’s Build will contribute to a total of 1155 houses planned to convert the sprawling settlement of New Rest from a slum into a suburb.

The 40 square metre two-bedroom “Breaking New Ground” (BNG) homes will be handed over to beneficiaries on Women’s Day, 9 August. BNG houses replace the old 27 square metre, single-bedroom, RDP subsidised standard. Beneficiaries, chosen by the community, include elderly and disabled women, as well as those caring for orphans and vulnerable children. 

Build volunteers, including women from the New Rest community, will work under the guidance of professional contractors and team leaders, with SAWIC members playing a leading role in their guidance and training.

The event aims to highlight the role of women in construction, and to offer opportunities to new women entrants in the construction industry.

2007 marks the 51^st anniversary of the Women’s March to the Union Buildings in 1956 to protest against apartheid pass laws. The national theme for Women’s Month is: Emancipation, Empowerment, Equality and Eradication of Poverty… NOW!

Media are invited to attend the ceremonial start of Women’s Build 2007 in New Rest on Wednesday at 10am, when Ms Zou Khota MP, chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee, will join beneficiaries – presently living in shacks – in laying the first bricks.

To get to New Rest, take the N2 towards the airport, turn left at the Modderdam Road exit, right at the first robot, and follow the signs to your right as you enter Gugulethu.

For more information please call Monwabisi Maclean of the Department of Housing on 082 882 2962.

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