Clairwood residents have rallied around one of their own, raising funds and donating building material and their time for the construction of a house after the original historic 90-year-old wood-and-iron one burnt down last month.
About R30 000 has been raised so far to help build a simple family home for Manoj Maharaj of Cherry Road.
The new house is already at roof level, although there’s plenty of work remaining.
“It’s a good feeling. Sometimes I cannot find words to describe how far we’ve come in such a short while,” Maharaj told POST on Monday. “This is all through the generosity of people living in and around Clairwood.”
Maharaj was at a car show in Scottburgh last month when he received a call that his three-bedroom-house was on fire. By the time he returned home, the house, which was not insured, had been destroyed.
Almost everything was lost in the blaze. Since then the Clairwood Residents and Ratepayers’ Association and locals have been on a drive to raise money to rebuild Maharaj’s house.
He is currently living at a friend’s home, while his 21-year-old daughter has moved in with her mother in the interim.
Maharaj said a neighbour had allowed him to stay in their family simplex. The neighbour had also volunteered to pay the costs of the new home’s foundation, while some people donated building materials such as aluminium windows, and piping.
The money would be used for labour costs, although Maharaj said the remaining challenges included getting the roof, plumbing and plastering work done.
The secretary of the association, Mervyn Reddy, said: “We want to build a simple building for this man and his family. He is one of many who still wants to live in Clairwood and we have many well-wishers who have come on board to help out.”
He said the camaraderie showed Clairwood residents had remained unified over the years despite the hurdles the area faced.
A photograph of the original house appeared in Juggie Pather’s book Clairwood: The Untold Story.