Project Bungalow: The Saga Continues

It was not a good weekend for Project Bungalow. I feel especially bad for Nomasomi, who had her hopes really high and saw them crash.

As I mentioned previously, I paid for the bungalow on May 4th. At the time we spoke with a woman from the JL Zwane congregation who lived just down the street from where the bungalow is sitting. She has a couple guys working on a house for her, and she negotiated with us that four guys would tear down the bungalow, move it, and rebuild it, all for R500. She was also going to arrange for a truck, which would be additional (price to be determined). Yvonne and I were told that they would start at 10:00 on Saturday and have it done in one day.

I should have taken a picture of the place, but here's a quick description: The bungalow is about 12 feet by 16 feet. It's made of corrugated asbestos panels, each one being about 3 feet wide and 8 feet tall. The panels are held together with a wooden 2x8 frame at the top and another at the bottom with 2x10 beams forming a t in the middle of the ceiling. There are no support posts that I can remember. It has single small windows on three sides and a main entrance door. The roof is the same asbestos tile. All in all there are probably 35 tiles, the beams, the door, and hardware to keep it together. I figure 4 guys could easily disassemble the structure in 2-3 hours and re-assemble it in 3-4 hours if they work hard and have the proper tools.

When we got there at 3:30 yesterday, there were two guys working on the roof panels. They had about half of them down. Obviously, there were not four guys working since 10:00. They told us that they could only do the roof and would come back on Sunday to do the rest. The main guy gave me his word that he'd be there at 9:00 with the other workers and they'd have it done on Sunday. They asked for partial payment, as they had other workers to pay (there were allegedly a couple other workers there in the morning.) I paid them R200 of the R500 and made it clear that I expected to see workers at 9:30 Sunday when I passed by on my way to church. He said they would be there.

During all of this drama, poor Nomasomi was sitting at the bungalow watching nothing happening. She was in an absolute panic, because she was kicked out of where she was staying and had nowhere else to go. Yvonne talked to her and calmed her down, and we left the place on Saturday with a renewed sense of hope but a growing cynicism that the result would be a good one.

This morning (Sunday) I did drive by the bungalow on my way to church and, as I feared, no men were there. Yvonne and I drove back after church (1:00) and still no men. Nomasomi was sitting outside the bungalow with her heart in her hand. We didn't stop because we had other people in the car, so I can only guess at what Nomasomi was feeling (fear, anger and disappointment for sure).

As a back-up plan, Yvonne spoke with two men from the Men's Auxiliary about the situation. They agreed that the group would take on this project and make it happen. We drove by the site this afternoon with one of the men to help him understand what is happening. Hopefully, we will have Plan B in place this week and Nomasomi will be in her new home very soon.

Besides the problems with the bungalow, I also found out this week that we will probably have problems in the near future with Nomasomi's situation, even after the bungalow is finished. Yvonne never told me that Nomasomi will have to pay rent for the plot where the bungalow will sit. It never crossed my mind, partly because no one ever talked about it. She will also have electricity costs, assuming she gets a box and a hook-up. Because of the size of the shack, the rent will probably be about R250-300 per month. Electricity will probably run another R30-50. Nomasomi is not working and has no prospects. She is not skilled, so her chances of finding well-paying work are poor to none. I am very afraid that she will soon end up homeless again because she can't afford to have a home. I don't know what I would do then.

I can't tell you how frustrated and disappointed I feel right now. I promised a woman that she would have a new home, and I have not been able to carry through on that promise. I feel robbed by the men who promised to do the work and then didn't even show up. I'm upset that no one stopped to explain the whole scenario so we could put together a proper plan. But mostly I'm angry with myself for not asking more and tougher questions assuming that what I already knew was sufficient. I broke one of my own rules about not promising something I can't deliver. I have certainly learned many lessons from this and will not move so quickly on anything again until I truly know and understand the financial, social, cultural, and humanistic consequences of my actions.

Yvonne thinks everything will be fine now that the other men are involved. I'm reserving judgment. I'll keep you all informed as things proceed.

On a happier note, the HIV support group took over for most of today's service. They did a play about people's acceptance of those living with HIV. They had five scenarios, including an employer/employee, student/teacher, mother/daughter, lesbian couple, and two school friends. First each pair did disclosure and rejection, and then each came back and did acceptance. Part of the acceptance message was about JL Zwane being a church that welcomes and supports people living with HIV, unlike other churches in Guguletu. It wasn't exactly a happy play, but it had a strong message at the end and the congregation loved it. The support group also gave gifts to Rev. Spiwo and his wife Zethu (she's a nurse and a leader in the support group), the two cooks who make the daily support group meal, the doctor who attends the group, and the social worker who is in charge of the group. It was very nice.

More to come. Please think happy thoughts for Project Bungalow.