19 August 2015, Slurry, North West. PPC employees Ernest Mmolaatlou, Joel Morakanele and Ernest Mogoiwa welcomed high level management and colleagues into their new homes today. The "house handover" is the culmination of their membership of PPC's Housing Club - which has walked with them and supported them on their journey towards home ownership.

Darryll Castle, CEO of PPC Ltd; board members Charles Naude and Peter Nelson; and PPC Slurry General Manager Frikkie van Zyl were among the delegation that congratulated the families on their new homes. "Today marks a new beginning for each of these gentlemen and their families. We are privileged to have played a part in helping them realise their dreams," says Castle. "As a key player in the construction sector, PPC recognises housing as a critical need of many of our own employees, as well as of families in the communities in which we operate. To this end, we are proud to have enabled 36 of our staff members to build or buy homes of their own through our housing initiative to date."

Started in 2013, PPC's Housing Club was initiated as a special project following an employee survey. "This identified housing as a core concern - and need - of many of our employees," explains Yogesh Narsing, PPC's Executive: Special Projects. "In delving deeper we discovered that numerous staff members did not qualify for RDP housing and, simultaneously, were unable to access a home loan because of the earnings bracket they found themselves in. Our response was to tailor-make a housing programme that could enable their home-ownership in the form of PPC's Housing Club."

Operating nationally and supported by the South African Housing Club (SAHC), PPC's Housing Club offers qualifying members the opportunity to access a matched grant. The process starts with an interview to determine the individual's dreams, needs and actual reality. "The next phase involves assisting them to create a plan that moves them towards acquiring their own home. This includes developing a family budget and a cashflow plan: essentially working out what they can afford," says Narsing. "We then work with them for as long as it takes to achieve their end goal. This could involve matching their savings with the grant so that they can buy an existing house, or supporting them to build their own home."

PPC Slurry General Manager Frikkie van Zyl notes that today's handover demonstrates the ability of the club to meet very specific individual needs: "While Ernest Mmolaatlou built a new house on land he owned when he first became a club member, Joel Morakanele had already selected his future home - the beautiful house we were all welcomed into today. Ernest Mogoiwa on the other hand, entered the initiative with a half-built house. In each case, we were able to tailor our assistance and support."

The Housing Club currently has 400 registered members, all of whom have shown an interest in becoming homeowners. Of these, 250 are already in various stages of the process. As such, Castle is looking forward to similar handovers in the months to come. "The experience of owning your own home is often taken for granted by many of us. We're delighted to have been able to walk this exciting journey with our fellow team members today. May this be the start of a new and very happy chapter in their families' lives," he concludes.

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