Good Morning Angels Festive Edition: New roof for family in need

BACKGROUND: Portia Malapane is a young mother and breadwinner for her extended family of nine. When she was 25, Malapane lost both her parents. As the eldest sibling, she took over the financial responsibility for her younger brother and 2 sisters, her sister’s two children, her own son of just over a year, as well as her grandparents. Her parents left them a two-bedroom RDP house. She was determined to provide a better home for her family. She worked hard, took out a loan and built a beautiful home. She is still paying off the loan, while she rents a small room in Tembisa to save costs while she works, happy in the knowledge that her family is taken care of.

On the morning of 14 August, she received a call from home with devastating news: the house, with everything in it, burnt down.

Luckily no one got seriously injured. Members of the community helped by putting up a shack in the yard for the family to stay in, but it is a temporary shelter and not waterproof. Malapane scraped together what she could to replace clothing and household essentials that were lost. She does not have anything spare to rebuild the home that she is still paying off on. Replacing the roof is her main concern. A colleague at work, Cheryl van der Mescht, is very concerned about the toll that this is taking on Malapane and her family and asked Good Morning Angels for assistance: “Portia is such a lively and friendly person and it has been heartbreaking for me to watch the joy and light fade from her eyes." 

REQUEST FOR: Portia Malapane

REQUEST FROM: Cheryl van der Mescht

ANGEL: Bonnie Cooper, representing Roman's Pizza

SPONSORING: Roman's Pizza will assist Portia Malapane with R35 000 towards a new roof and repairs to her family's fire-damaged home. 

ORIGINAL REQUEST: 

Good Day, Martin and team at Good Morning Angels: 

I worked down the road from Jacaranda FM at the Engen One Stop (Big Bird) and would really appreciate any help to help this colleague I work with!

Even for donations of kitchenware, clothes for her little boy, furniture etc - BUT - most important is the roof.

Portia's bright spark and smile are gone with all the worries!

I am writing to you with regards to my colleague Portia Malapane. She lost both her parents at the age of 25, which made her a breadwinner to her family of nine: a younger brother, two younger sisters, her sister’s two children and her son who is now one-year-three- months old, as well as her elderly grandparents. When her parents passed, they left them in an RDP house with two bedrooms, but Portia was determined to provide better living conditions for her family. She moved to Joburg, found herself a room to rent in Tembisa, which she still lives in, worked hard saving whatever little she made to build a bigger house for them. 

She took out a loan, built the house and got everything done, a loan that she is still paying for today. This year, on the 14th of August 2021 at 6:14 am, Portia got a call from home saying the house she worked so hard to build was on fire. Her family got out alive, thank God, only her granny sustained an injury on her leg, but most of the house burned to the ground. 

They lost all their furniture, their clothes, the roofing, everything is gone. They only managed to get out with the clothes they were wearing. The only thing that’s left of the house is the walls. The community in her village came together and built a little shack for them to sleep in, but her biggest worry now is getting a roof over her family’s head, especially now that the rainy season is upon us. 

Her brother is 22-years old and works as a petrol attendant at Big Bird, so he’s also been helping at home, but he recently fell ill and has been to many doctors but they haven’t been able to diagnose him. He is now working fewer hours due to his illness, so he’s struggling financially and has to rely on Portia, who also doesn’t have the money to help him. 

Although she does have a job and is grateful for it considering how so many people have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, her small salary is not covering all the basic needs for her and her family. I am kindly asking that you help her sort out the roof at home so that she can sleep peacefully at night knowing that her family is safe and sheltered. Portia is such a lively and friendly person and it has been heartbreaking for me to watch the joy and light fade from her eyes. 

Thank you for listening 

Kind Regards, Cheryl van der Mescht

The Good Morning Angels Festive Edition is proudly sponsored by Roman's Pizza.