The Marhumekes' pain and frustration of not having a shelter over their heads will soon come to an end as the contractor is busy building a house for this indigent family.

The Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) department hired Rhulani Construction to build the Marhumeke's family an RDP house in Mambedi-Valdezia. The project developer at Dingatana Supplies and Services, Mr Tumelo Nthulwane, said that the project would be completed within three weeks to allow the family to move into their new house.

“We are trying all our best to speed up the project,” Nthulwane said on Tuesday.

The family of six had been without a stable shelter after a storm destroyed their shack in October 2012. After the disaster, the local Sanco reported the family's case to the ward committee, so that the committee could alert Cllr Alpheus Mmbadi of Ward 28 about the case. Mbadi said that he hadn't received any report from the ward committee or local Sanco each time Limpopo Mirror contacted him for comment. Mambedi-Valdezia falls within the jurisdiction of Makhado Municipality.

Ms Maria Marhumeke expressed her joy during Limpopo Mirror's visit on Tuesday. “I am very, very happy to see these people building the house for us,” she said. “It has been a hard journey of pain and frustration for us to find our eyes finally seeing this house rising from the ground.”

Meanwhile, Maria, who is unemployed, said that she received a message from the Makhado Home Affairs office, informing her that her birth certificate was ready. “I will go to collect it once I get some money for transport,” she said. “Then I can go ahead with applying for my children's certificates as well.”

Local Sanco chairperson Ms Maria Ndekeni said that she was relieved that the painful journey to have either Coghsta or Makhado Municipality build the Marhumeke family a house finally bore good fruits.