Loveness's House
March 2008
Loveness Michelo had been forced to move from Mwapona compound because of damages to her house caused by the heavy rains of this year. The floor had begun to collapse underneath her, as a result of an infestation of termites as well as the rain. There was no concrete, so the mud the house was built on quickly became too wet to hold the structure. Loveness had to move with her 5 children to live temporarily in a small house beside the church.
Loveness was struggling to feed her children, with her husband in prison she was relying on piece works. She wasn't able to fund a new house and so was identified by Primach as needing help.
A donor in the UK also saw this need and was moved to provide financial support to the project. This is the story of the building of Loveness house.
The first thing to do was to demolish the old house, starting with the roof:
Loveness Michelo had been forced to move from Mwapona compound because of damages to her house caused by the heavy rains of this year. The floor had begun to collapse underneath her, as a result of an infestation of termites as well as the rain. There was no concrete, so the mud the house was built on quickly became too wet to hold the structure. Loveness had to move with her 5 children to live temporarily in a small house beside the church.
Loveness was struggling to feed her children, with her husband in prison she was relying on piece works. She wasn't able to fund a new house and so was identified by Primach as needing help.
A donor in the UK also saw this need and was moved to provide financial support to the project. This is the story of the building of Loveness house.
The first thing to do was to demolish the old house, starting with the roof:
We kept some grass that was still re usable, and threw the rest into a huge fire.
As the grass was coming down, we kept on finding socks and knickers in the roof. Every time this happened Loveness would pick them up and put them in a growing pile under the tree. I was laughing and looking at her like what is going on? Had Loveness been keeping her underwear in the roof? No, apparently it was the rats, which would find things and then keep them safe in the grass roof where they lived.
Next, it was time to lift off the naked frame of the roof. Five men help into a pole and strategically lifted. After each lift Henry, the man who had been on the roof, would shout "again!", and the children who had gathered to watch this spectacle jumped around gleefully shouting “again! Again!” with little idea of what it meant, long after the roof had toppled off the walls.
To get the walls down, we went inside and pushed. Everyone jumped back and a huge cloud of smoke appeared, underneath which was a pile of wall. We used hands and sticks, and when Nelson karate kicked one of the walls down the kids were thrilled and karate kicked the air for a while. Within ten minutes there were no walls left at all.
The area needed clearing then, which Loveness and her neighbours worked all day to do quickly. Some of the less broken bricks would be used to level the ground and others to build the outside kitchen.
As the grass was coming down, we kept on finding socks and knickers in the roof. Every time this happened Loveness would pick them up and put them in a growing pile under the tree. I was laughing and looking at her like what is going on? Had Loveness been keeping her underwear in the roof? No, apparently it was the rats, which would find things and then keep them safe in the grass roof where they lived.
Next, it was time to lift off the naked frame of the roof. Five men help into a pole and strategically lifted. After each lift Henry, the man who had been on the roof, would shout "again!", and the children who had gathered to watch this spectacle jumped around gleefully shouting “again! Again!” with little idea of what it meant, long after the roof had toppled off the walls.
To get the walls down, we went inside and pushed. Everyone jumped back and a huge cloud of smoke appeared, underneath which was a pile of wall. We used hands and sticks, and when Nelson karate kicked one of the walls down the kids were thrilled and karate kicked the air for a while. Within ten minutes there were no walls left at all.
The area needed clearing then, which Loveness and her neighbours worked all day to do quickly. Some of the less broken bricks would be used to level the ground and others to build the outside kitchen.
The next day, the foundations were dug while bricks were ferried in on wheelbarrows by some of the local boys.
Foundations were built before the trenches got full of water, and cement was bought and stored in the Mfulas’ living room.
Next was the floor to be laid; the house was to be raised slightly off the ground, making it stronger, longer lasting, and most importantly, protected from flooding.
The next job was to fill in the foundation of the house ready for a plastic sheet to go on top and then the 4 inches of concrete that would make the floor. We dug mud up from around the house and threw it in, and we used some of the broken bricks from the old house which crumbled easily.
Everyone worked hard ferrying mud around in wheelbarrows, buckets and throwing bricks. Mr Haboombe, the builder, asked me, "Have you ever planted a garden?" I told him that no, I haven't. "Ah! You people you are lazy! Here in Africa we work hard; we start at 07 hours and don’t finish until 18. We really struggle here," he said, sitting under a tree while I carried bricks back and forth. The same boys were working with us who'd been paid before to transport the bricks.
Foundations were built before the trenches got full of water, and cement was bought and stored in the Mfulas’ living room.
Next was the floor to be laid; the house was to be raised slightly off the ground, making it stronger, longer lasting, and most importantly, protected from flooding.
The next job was to fill in the foundation of the house ready for a plastic sheet to go on top and then the 4 inches of concrete that would make the floor. We dug mud up from around the house and threw it in, and we used some of the broken bricks from the old house which crumbled easily.
Everyone worked hard ferrying mud around in wheelbarrows, buckets and throwing bricks. Mr Haboombe, the builder, asked me, "Have you ever planted a garden?" I told him that no, I haven't. "Ah! You people you are lazy! Here in Africa we work hard; we start at 07 hours and don’t finish until 18. We really struggle here," he said, sitting under a tree while I carried bricks back and forth. The same boys were working with us who'd been paid before to transport the bricks.
A few days later, the concrete slab was laid. In the days that followed Mr. Haboombe and his nephew were busy laying bricks and building up the walls of the house on the slab that was completed earlier this week. Frederick (one of the boys who were transporting bricks) would usually be there all day, busy mixing the cement with a spade.
The whole house took about one month to build. Once the walls were done, the iron sheets were secured to make the roof. Iron sheets last a lot longer than the grass roof she had before. In fact, those with grass roofs usually have to replace much of the grass every year, which for most people is just not possible because of the cost. What's more, in years like this one the rains are so heavy that the wooden structure that holds the roof is damaged. This means that the whole roof needs to be replaced. Again, this is a cost that just can't be met by most of people in this compound.
The whole house took about one month to build. Once the walls were done, the iron sheets were secured to make the roof. Iron sheets last a lot longer than the grass roof she had before. In fact, those with grass roofs usually have to replace much of the grass every year, which for most people is just not possible because of the cost. What's more, in years like this one the rains are so heavy that the wooden structure that holds the roof is damaged. This means that the whole roof needs to be replaced. Again, this is a cost that just can't be met by most of people in this compound.
Loveness was thrilled to move into her new home. Today, she is an irreplaceable member of the Primach team, helping to monitor the progress of the younger kids in school and encouraging them to attend daily and work hard.
