The alarm buzzed at 6:20am so we peeled ourselves out of the bed. It was a cool morning with bursts of sunshine every now and again. After a fruit breakfast we all loaded onto the bus for Khayelitsha, a 30 minute drive from Cape Town centre.

This is our 4th year on the NMTT Building Blitz, and we kinda knew what to expect. However, as we arrived into the township we did not expect that the building project would be spread so far apart. There are 6 sectors within the building area, with each sector containing a number of colour-coded teams. The total area occupied by the building site is 300 acres, with a population of 10,000 people living in shacks.

Maybe the shacks are equally as bad every year but we felt that the condition of these shacks seemed worse on this site. Crime is also a huge problem in the area, and all volunteers have to be escorted by a security team whenever they move (and that means even to the toilet!)

Last year all volunteers worked within a compound but this is not possible this year given the “spread out” nature of the project. We felt it is much more personal when we get to mix with the children and future owners of the houses. It makes for interesting conversation.

The building started once Denis O’Riordan, our team foreman, assigned different tasks to all red team volunteers. Our first job was to put a door and frame up in the women’s loo at “Red Team HQ”. There was a lot of pressure on us to get it finished quickly! Once sorted, we linked up with a good friend of ours from the township of Imizamo Yethu – “Dobie” – who always works with us for the building week. Hanging doors was the order of the day for us until finish.

A little sheebeen right beside the house was in full swing for the afternoon. A sheebeen is where locals drink and sing for the weekend. Close by was a woman called Connie who was about to receive the house we were building. She is in her late twenties and so appreciative, with a great spirit and sense of happiness.

The afternoon rained, and as 5pm approached we finished for our 2nd day.