Sophia Morris's Story – Beneficiary

But getting a brick house changed my whole life. I knew my children would be safe; having a house made me very proud.

Getting a brick house changed my whole life Sophia Morris, 36, a former shack dweller living about 15km from Cape Town, explains how moving into a brick house, built by the charity, changed her life.

“I lived in a shack with my family in the Imizamo Yethu township Hout Bay for 14 years. Before the Irish volunteers from the Niall Mellon Township Trust built our house we didn’t have running water, bath or shower and the toilet was outside. I was always worried about fires. In 2004 my shack burned down in a big fire in the township. I was very depressed because you don't know what you are going to do, or how you are going to replace everything that you have lost.

But getting a brick house changed my whole life. I knew my children would be safe; having a house made me very proud. It also makes a big difference in the children's lives, as there is a stigma attached when you come from an informal settlement. People think you might be violent or a criminal. When you have a house everything is different!. The house has also enabled me to help my neighbours by minding their children, giving them a safe place to come when they need to go to work.”