Matatiele - Life will never be the same for the 98-year-old elderly woman from Matatiele who has just moved into her own bricks and mortar house.
Keletso Nkoala had all her life, until now, lived in a shack at Kwa-Sibi Village in Matatiele. She is solely dependent on a social grant.
Nkoala is a beneficiary of responsible intervention programme of the department of human settlement for Destitute and Vulnerable Groups.
The programme seeks to prioritise and fast-track housing provision for the elderly, disabled, child-headed families and military veterans.
Nkoala's house was handed to her by the newly appointed Eastern Cape the MEC for Human Settlements, Babalo Madikizela.
MEC Babalo Madikizela standing next to Granny Keletso Nkoala, human settlement officials and Matatiele Local Municipality officials. Picture: ANA
Accepting the house, Nkoala thanked the officials and exclaimed: "All my life I have been living like an animal, in a shack that was raining. Today I feel like I belong to a society."
Madikizela also thanked the community which has helped the department of human settlement in identifying the plight of "Mama Nkoala".
He implored the community to be patient, wait their turn for housing delivery and accept prioritisation of the most vulnerable.
"We hear reports that gogo [Nkoala] was exposed to some abuse. We must as the community take the responsibility of allowing those that are more challenged than us to be the priority," said Madikizela.