For twenty-two years, Zimisele Mejini earned his wages by building houses and working as a bricklayer for various contractors. However, his life was transformed when he was enrolled in a builders training course for the Elliotdale Housing Project, which is currently being managed by Lima and Teba Development, with funding from the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements.

The Community Work Programme (CWP) granted funding for participants to undergo training in order to equip them with the appropriate skills needed to construct houses in an expert manner. Dustin Mills, project manager of Elliotdale Housing, has described how delighted he is that Zimisele was the first person to return from the training eager to put his newly found skills to the test. A total of sixty people have benefited from the training courses provided.

Zimisele could not stop thanking CWP for allowing him to expand his building expertise and proudly listed his improved abilities of installing doors and windows; of knowing how to control mortar joint thickness; using different shell bedding techniques and the ability to read housing plans. He has now progressed from working for a contractor who provided him with a daily wage and occasional work, to being a small scale contractor who is now pushing productivity to maximise his income.

Zimisele describes his feeling of accomplishment when he looks back at a completed house and knows that there will be many more. His future goals are to continue working for The Elliotdale Housing Project while growing his new business and providing work opportunities for others.

Zimisele Mejini	Zimisele supervises his labourers while they mix mortar	Mrs Nothobile Spolo is very pleased with the quality of workmanship from Zimisele on her new home	Laying the next brick towards completion for a future home