Christmas came early for a 78-year-old Nyanga resident when she was handed the keys to her rebuilt house on Tuesday, December 10.

Nomasogololo Ntunjana lost her RDP house to a fire in June last year after it was allegedly petrol bombed.

However, her dream of owning a decent house again was realised when the Collen Mashawana Foundation handed her a fully refurbished house, including furniture.

Ward councillor Sandile Martin had looked for assistance in rebuilding Ms Ntunjana’s house and asked Collen Mashawana for help.

Ms Ntunjana said on the day of the fire, she saw smoke coming from one of the rooms and everyone in the house was able to escape.

The fire was doused with the help of neighbours and firefighters, however, the damage was extensive.

“I was very hurt about the state of my house and I did not have any ideas of how I would rebuild my home again. My health deteriorated as all I could ever think about was my house.

“I share this house with my five grandchildren and I was very worried about what would happen to them if I died while this house still looks like this. I lived in this house for six months while the roof was riddled with holes because I had nowhere to go,” she said.

Ms Ntunjana expressed her sincere gratitude to the donors and stated that she never believed that her house would be rebuilt again after numerous people had visited her and promised to help her - only to disappear afterwards.

Collen Mashawana Foundation representative, Beverley Matlala, said it was said to hear Gogo Ntunjana's story, her daily struggles, and the harsh realities of homelessness.

She said the foundation focuses on providing decent shelter for older persons, child-headed households, and persons with disabilities.

Ms Matlala said they were eager to help when they heard about her story and their main mission is to turn their lives around.

She said they would love to build houses for everyone but budget constraints and partnerships play a huge role in achieving that goal.

Mr Martin said when he heard what had happened he knew he needed to help.

He said Ms Ntunjana’s main source of income is her old age pension grant and grandchildren's social grants and there was no way that she could afford to fix or rebuild her house.

He said when he met Mr Mashawana here in Cape Town he pleaded with him through his foundation to help Ms Ntunjana to rebuild her house and Mr Mashawana gave an assurance to help.

Mr Martin said he was grateful that the foundation had lived up to its promise and built her a beautiful house.