Meet Dumisani Mzobe
by Samantha Schroeder

When Dumisani Mzobe heard that Habitat for Humanity was going to build 100 houses in five days, he wanted to know more. Although the line of applicants was long, he was willing to stand and wait his turn all day, if necessary. Mr. Mzobe, his wife and their five children, aged 6-17, live in a one-room house where they cook in the same room where they sleep, and the family of seven all sleep together.

The family currently lives in Chesterville, a township 10 kilometers from the site of the Jimmy Carter Work Project in Durban, South Africa. Mr. Mzobe has supported his wife and children over the past seven years from the salary he earns at the South African Red Cross. He is a hard-working man with strong principles, who longs to give his family a proper home. "If we could work with Habitat to make a home, we would be very happy," he says. "We could have a nice life, like other people. If we had our very own place we could stand proud of our lives."

Over the past few months, the Mzobe family has demonstrated their commitment to the Habitat principles of partnership and participation. They have put in numerous hours of sweat equity already, making bricks each Saturday and preparing the site for construction. The family meets weekly with their stokvel (see related story), and they build with their fellow stokvel members every weekend.

Mr. Mzobe says he is ready to join the Habitat family. "We would promise to pay back all the money, because we would be so grateful. This way other people could change their lives too."

—Samantha Schroeder is JCWP communications project coordinator


More than 1,000 volunteers are needed for the Jimmy Carter Work Project to make the dreams of 100 families come true.




Prospective homeowners for the Jimmy Carter Work Project build are working through the family selection process in hopes of owning a home like the one pictured above. For these families, a house represents more than bricks and mortar. A simple but solid house represents a measure of safety and security in an often-uncertain world.