About HDA Cares
HDA CARES is the Corporate Social Investment programme of the Housing Development Agency, established to deliver structured, accountable, and sustainable community upliftment initiatives aligned to national development priorities.
Grounded in strong governance and guided by our CSI Framework, the programme advances education, youth development, community welfare, and support for vulnerable groups, particularly within communities where the HDA operates.
HDA Extends Care Beyond Housing For Gogo Shandu
Joyfulness, gratitude, and heartfelt emotion filled the day as the HDA team spent time with Gogo Sophie Shandu (103) and her family, reaffirming the Agency’s commitment to compassion, dignity, and community upliftment.
Gogo Shandu is a beneficiary of a standard two-bedroom house comprising of a living area and kitchen, built by the Housing Development Agency (HDA), in line with the assigned mandate and following a structural integrity assessment commissioned by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements (KZN DHS).
The assessment was conducted in the Illovu/Felekisi area within the eThekwini Municipality, where Gogo Shandu had been residing in a single-room mud-block dwelling that posed serious safety and structural risks.
The original structure was unsafe and non-compliant with National Building Regulations, featuring a rusted and leaking corrugated iron roof, the absence of proper windowpanes, and a weakened superstructure with substandard rafters and unstable support beams. These conditions placed the lives and dignity of the household at serious risk.
At 103 years old, Gogo Shandu lives with her five children and two grandchildren. Guided by its mandate to support sustainable human settlements and protect vulnerable households, the HDA intervened decisively by constructing a safe and permanent home.
This act of compassion was made possible through the collective generosity of members of the HDA Executive Committee (EXCO), led by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bheki Khenisa, who responded to an internal HDA CARES call to action by donating towards the initiative. The gesture brought visible joy and heartfelt gratitude to the Shandu household.
In a deeply moving moment, Gogo Shandu humbly expressed her appreciation, stating that it is the Lord who will thank the HDA for its kindness:
“Niyobongwa yiNkosi, anginawo amaningi.”
(“May the Lord bless you, I have no other words.”)
