For most people living in Council owned accommodation, life is often a daily struggle in which the old maxim ‘There is never enough’ rings true for too many individuals and families caught up in the battle to find enough money for basics.

But the human spirit is indomitable. Against all odds, many enterprising Council tenants work tirelessly with limited funds to turn their homes into castles. Sumaya and Naziem Syce of 45 Ganymede Street in Woodlands are one example. Over a 15 year period, the couple has painstakingly refurbished their tiny two- bedroom flat by tiling the bathroom and kitchen and installing kitchen cupboards. The result is a neat home that offers this devout Moslem family a welcome retreat at the end of the day.

Gaironesa Schuller, who resides in a three bedroom maisonette in Orpheus Crescent, Woodlands, with her disabled husband and grandchild, has over a 22 year period skimmed the unit’s walls, panelled her staircase, wallpapered the bedrooms and installed tiles. Her pride in her home is unmistakable. By dint of careful saving and spending, she and her family have turned their humble abode into the pride of the neighbourhood. “A home is where people are safe,” she says. “It’s where children grow up and parents grow old.”

Her example has inspired her neighbour, Tofieka Alie, a single mother of a ten year old, to do the same. In recent years, she has singlehandedly upgraded her geyser, installed gleaming floor tiles, and is currently stripping the unit’s exterior paint. This brave and determined young woman, who has lived in the maisonette for most of her life, is proof of what sheer hard work and grit can do.

The City of Cape Town is Cape Town’s largest landlord, with 43 000 saleable rental units that it leases according to proven income levels. These are shortly to be upgraded in phases as part of a national programme, with work on 7 799 City owned houses and flats in Manenberg, Scottsdene, Connaught, Uitsig, Woodlands, Heideveld, The Range, Hanover Park, Kewtown and Ottery due to start in the next financial year. Upgrades include maintenance repairs (damp/defective plumbing), internal and external painting and general improvements to the outside facilities.

The revamp is funded by the City’s annual housing subsidy allocation.

For these three families in Woodlands, Mitchells Plain, it is sure to be well received, complementing their own hard work, and showcasing their homes as the pride of the neighbourhood.