RAIN is a blessing for many but for the Dube family, it was a curse.
For them, the rain has been a nightmare because their one-roomed shack had leaks. They had been praying for years that there would be no rainy days.
The young unemployed couple from Empembeni in Esikhawini, northern KZN, lived with their eight-year-old daughter in the shack and had to stand when it rained because the leaks were everywhere, even on the side of the bed.
But on Sunday 24 September, their lives changed for the better when they received keys to their new furnished four-roomed house.
The house was built by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and handed over by IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa, who was accompanied by other party officials.
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Sithembile Gazu (38) said that the conditions they lived in were not good at all.
"Our shack was leaking. We built our house from the materials that the neighbours donated to us, and we built this one room to have a roof over our heads," Sithembile said.
She said they survive on piece jobs and use the money they earn to buy food.
"We didn't even have money to buy new zinc plates to replace the rusty old ones, or to have a bigger room so that when we bathe, no one has to wait outside the room," she said.
Sithembile's partner, Bafana Dube (45), said he was at a loss for words because it had always been his dream to build a decent house for his family.
"I am happy that the IFP today has washed away my worries. My daughter will now be in her room when I bathe because we have a bathroom, unlike before when she had to wait outside until I finished bathing," said Bafana.
Hlabisa said it was a pity that Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi could not be here to hand over the house because he had instructed them to change people's lives for the better.
"He taught us to give our people back their dignity. To honour him, we will continue with what he taught us to do for our people," he said.
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