Oracle Volunteer Build, Temibsa, 11 March 2010

From this ..... To this!
Oracle paints Tembisa red
What do you get when you mix a group of dynamic people with a good cause? You get 65 special individuals contributing to the betterment of their fellow citizens and the future of SA.
Oracle SA participated in the first volunteer house build in Gauteng, Tembisa on 11 March. The group arrived on site well nourished with tea, coffee and muffins provided by their team. Wearing t-shirts in their corporate colour, red, the volunteers were divided into 10 building teams, and one painting team.
From the energy and enthusiasm that the teams displayed in performing their tasks, it is self-evident that the Oracle staff are hard workers with drive and determination. From the Vice President/MD to admin staff and suppliers of Oracle, the volunteers pulled together and worked well despite the searing temperature and dusty conditions.
As with most other volunteer builds, the highlight of the Oracle build was the handover of the house to the beneficiary at the end of the day. The painting team worked on two different houses and was lucky enough to meet and work alongside the beneficiaries of both houses.
Nicky Sheridan, Vice-President and MD for Oracle SA, made a heartfelt wish to Sheila and John at the first house and handed over the key on bended knee!
At the second house, Barry de Waal, General Manager: A L Indigo, handed the key to Lucky who thanked the group for their help in Zulu.
From start to finish, it was a special day with great spirit and banter among the volunteers. Many thanks to Wendy Karlson for her behind the scenes organization, and to Nicky Sheridan for having the vision to allow his staff to participate in such an amazing project. A special thanks must go to Abigel Sheridan and Antonia Schofield without whose assistance and intervention on our behalf, the build might not have happened.
The colour red is said to encourage action and confidence. Long may Oracle's corporate colour be red!
One of the Oracle suppliers,Thami Mngoma from Waymarkit, had this to say about his volunteer experience: "... As a South African I feel humbled by the founder of this initiative - especially given the fact that - growing up in rural Kwa-Zulu - we were taught that this is exactly how our ancestors built their homesteads and ploughed their fields - all neighbours coming together to build - from one house to the next and from one field to the next - hence "umuntu - ngumuntu ngabantu" a human is human by other humans - to loosely translate. To be reminded of that by an Irishman - clearly shows that human consciousness is one and we are all connected. The spirit with which everybody got involved with this project was incredible to say the least (especially since there were no manicures promised later), to me augurs well for the future of this country - from now on - I am pretty sure that should a lucrative opportunity exist - that might require your partners to unite and work together to deliver they will do it with flying colours - imagine a multi billion rand project - to roll out ERP to the entire education, health, etc system of the country (it's ok to dream - ask the guys at the Mellon housing project and the beneficiaries of those houses - they should know a thing or two about it.) "

Captions (l-r): Nicky Sheridan handing over the key on bended knee to Sheila and John.

The new homeowners with the Oracle team that painted their house.

Barry wishing Lucky well with his new house.

First house build in Cape Town for year, 25 Feb. 2010

Captions (l-r): Pre-schoolers giving the volunteers a 'Wallacedene Welcome'. The team that worked on the house that was handed over to the beneficiary. Some of the Stanford students ensuring their tools arrived back on site after lunch. Jen Unser - a veteran volunteer. The house that was handed over. The beneficiary of the house, James Wiseman and his son, Tolani.

Student groups happy to give back

The students who joined the first volunteer build in Cape Town this year were happy to set aside their books for one day to help build houses in Wallacedene yesterday. The group consisted of local UCT students from various engineering departments under the banner of Engineers without Borders (yellow t-shirts), and the other group was made up of foreign students from Stanford University, California, who are visiting Cape Town for a semester as part of the newly-established Stanford Study Abroad Centre (SSAC) (in blue t-shirts).

We also welcomed back one of our individual volunteers that has participated on a previous build, Jennifer Unser (in red t-shirt).

The group was given a hearty Wallacedene welcome on their arrival by children from a local pre-school.

Five of the six teams were involved in building internal walls and the sixth team was given the privileged task of painting and varnishing the house that was to be handed over at the end of the day.

The spirit on site was one of calm contemplation as the students and Jen became familiar with the tools of the trade. By the end of the day the different building teams had built an average of six courses (layers) of bricks in their respective houses, and the painting team had painted the ceilings and the final coat on the exterior as well as varnished all doors and window frames. They also made a good job of cleaning the area in front of the house of rubble etc.

At the house handover ceremony, Claire Gibson of the SSAC, handed over the scissors to cut the ceremonial ribbon and the key to the house, to the 56 year old beneficiary, James Wiseman. James has lived in a shack all his life, and was very eager to take possession of his first solid brick house, which he will share with his wife and two sons. James waited very patiently during the day to receive his house and even helped the students to clean up the front area of his house.

On behalf of the volunteer team and staff of Mellon Housing Initiative, we wish James and his family peace and happiness in their new home.