The promised land: Hammonds Farm

Show Voice Options ABOUT 120 families of Waterloo were overwhelmed with joy as the eThekwini Municipality recently handed over the keys to their new homes in Hammonds Farm. For many Waterloo residents the dream of living in proper houses with running water and electricity seemed to be an impossible prospect. However these dreams were made a reality for some as they were given keys and allocation documents that declared them owners of their own proper houses, which were of high quality. A housing project which initially began in 2007, but due to challenges such as environmental constraints and ground and earthworks, the construction process was slightly delayed until geotechnical engineers approved the earthworks. The construction resumed in February 2010 and through hard work from the construction and engineering team the project is finally coming to an end and the results are more than satisfactory to the eThekwini Municipality, the construction team and most importantly the people who matter the most which are the community members whom the houses were built for. Chairman of the Human Settlements and Infrastructure, Cllr Nigel Gumede said, “Hammonds Farm housing project is one of its kind and its one of the elements that we have received the Govan Mbeki Human Settlements Award. We want to change the face of eThekwini through social housing and slums clearance programme. Residents must be assured that housing is the priority of the City.” Beneficiaries could not contain their excitement and were stunned by the way in which the houses were built. An 82-year-old beneficiary, Anita Dube said that she is very grateful to her Ward 58 Cllr Mxolisi Ndzimbomvu who has been taking care of her. “Most beneficiaries that were allocated are from informal settlements and others are those of special cases and were living in a community hall”, added Ndzimbomvu. An emotional Zwelile Ncane, said “ I cannot believe that my dream of owning my own house came true as I had given up hope.” She has been residing in a community hall in Waterloo. Nelson Simanse who also received a house said he felt like he was moving into a mansion compared to the room he was living in, which was in a school nearby. Hammonds Farm Housing project did not only deliver houses to the people but also created job opportunities for local people in the area. THOKOZANI NDLOVU thokozani.ndlovu@durban.gov.za