Maubane lives with his wife and three sons in the home that has been without proper windows since a 2013 damaged them.
“My home’s windows were broken by the storm of 2013, and I can’t raise money to fix them,” he told OurHealth in early March. “Since then, I feel very cold in the morning and when it’s raining and I start to get a severe cough that leaves me unable to breathe properly.”
Maubane suffers from a chronic cough and his doctor at Dr. George Mukhari Hospital has advised him to stop smoking, he added. While he had reduced the amount of cigarettes he smokes, Maubane maintained that cold weather often exacerbates his cough.
OurHealth took the Maubanes’ situation to local businessman Tshepo Skhosana who was able to come to the family’s assistance just weeks later.
“We went there and viewed the house, and indeed the old man was coughing continuously,” Skhosana said. “We finally agreed to assist him on his house.”
Maubane said he was grateful for the community’s help.
“I am happy to get such assistance and it is my wish that it doesn’t end with me here today,” he told OurHealth. “I cannot wait to have my first time sleep in a house with windows.”