It's almost Christmas time and the season for giving! Greater Good South Africa is
running a Gifts4Good campaign, which offers a fun, quick and easy way to make a
difference in people's lives over the giving season and beyond.
Private Property in support of this initiative has given R10 000 towards the
housing campaign and we'd like to encourage everyone to help to make a
difference - however big or small your gift, it all adds up and brings a little
hope and magic into the lives of others.
Gifts4Good is an online shop with a difference. Alternative 'gifts' - like fruit
trees for a community orchard, a bag of cement or a tin of paint - make a real
difference to real people, facing very real problems in South Africa.
How it works:
You choose a great gift from
Personalise your own gift card
Your gift helps to change lives in South Africa - for good.
Home is where the heart is
In 2006 South Africa had an estimated backlog of some 2.5 million housing units
for 7.5 million people, over half of whom live in overcrowded township shacks
without adequate services. While the state subsidy provides the means to build a
23 square metre house, this is inadequate for most households' needs and poor
people are often unable to access bank loans to upgrade their homes. Most
state-subsidised developments are built on the edge of towns, reinforcing
apartheid patterns and there are often no recreational and community facilities
or economic opportunities nearby. Other factors that contribute to inadequate
housing delivery include poor training and/or monitoring of contractors, lack of
government capacity or co-operation, policy blockages and limited finance.
Gifts from Greater Good's Housing catalogue support SASIX-accredited initiatives
that encourage integrated housing and community development, provide technical
advice and housing loans to people unable to access support from banks and
promote savings groups within communities to upgrade their homes in the future.
