NHBRC hands over IBT home to 8-year-old girl with heart and lung condition

The NHBRC, in partnership with innovative building technology developer Habitat Modular Construction, handed over an environmentally-friendly home to eight-year-old Koketso Machibuku, who has a heart and lung condition, as part of its social transformation programme.

This came as a request from the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements following a Daily Sun article which featured Machibuku's living conditions in 2016 and her health challenges. At the time, Machibuku was a five-year-old toddler who lived in a squatter camp in Mamelodi East, where the living conditions exacerbated her heart and lung condition. She depends on an oxygen cylinder and its operations were affected by the continual power outages due to irregular electricity supply.

The three-bedroom home Machibuku will share with her family was built in Moloto, Mpumalanga, with the intervention of the Mpumalanga Department of Human Settlements and the cooperation of the traditional authority under the leadership of Chief Baba Gawula.

"NHBRC is required to educate the country about innovative building technologies (IBTs). Therefore, initiatives such as this give us an opportunity to ensure that as an organisation we continue to live up to our commitment of being a world-class home builders warranty organisation, ensuring the delivery of sustainable, quality homes at a time when the idea of living in a healthy and environmentally-sustainable manner may seem an unrealisable dream to many South Africans," said Bongiwe Duba, NHBRC Chairperson of the Social Transformation and Empowerment Committee (STEC) of Council.

NHBRC CEO Mziwonke Dlabantu highlighted this is part of the NHBRC's research strategy, which prompted the NHBRC to promote the uptake of IBTs in real life situations with real life beneficiaries; hence we have made this donation. "The NHBRC is researching structural performance of all registered innovative building systems across the country, to determine if such systems meet the minimum NHBRC standards requirement of 30 years (minimum) structural performance, without a need to maintain the structural integrity of that system," said Dlabantu.

Local councillor Makgatho highlighted that shortage of housing was one of the key challenges as there is still a struggle to meet the demands on the ground and contributions such as these are appreciated as they uplift the community and would like to see more of these things happen.

Little Koketso was visibly excited about her new home; however, the area around the property still needs paving and planting of trees and vegetables, in order to further enhance her quality of life and provide sustainable food sources for the family going forward.

For an interview request and any other assistance, please contact Molebogeng Taunyane on e-mail: [email protected] or (011) 317 0070 / (082) 646 8663.