Men on the Side of the Road find a Home

Home and Tuis magazine's DIY editor Ashley Stemmet and Kathy Ackerman-Robins of the Ackerman PnP Foundation recently welcomed guests to the unveiling of the inaugural 36 m2 Design Challenge winning home in Factreton, Cape Town.

Initiated by Men on the Side of the Road (MSR) charity, members of the public were invited to submit their designs for low-cost, multi-functional, mini-furniture that could be used in limited accommodation to be implemented within the 36m2, badly built Factreton home that houses a family of 10.

A panel of qualified judges, including Home and Tuis editor Anneke Blaise and Stemmet, reviewed the designs. Architect Aram Lello, of GAPP Architects and Urban Designers, won the space utilization category and Y. Tsai of Tsai Design Studios was selected for furniture design.

Tuis and Home magazines have adopted Men on the Side of the Road, a national organisation that works to improve the job possibilities and quality of life for hundreds of men standing alongside the road, waiting to be hired for work, as their exciting new CSR project for the year going ahead.

"We are really excited about getting involved with this groundbreaking charity," says Blaise. "There is a perfect affiliation between the magazines and MSR as our readers are extremely home orientated and tend to be avid DIY enthusiasts, gardeners and decorators. We believe we can help make a difference to the charity and the various projects that it is running by drawing attention to them through the magazines."

The 36m2 Challenge is set to become an annual project with a new home being selected each year by MSR for complete renovation. All work carried out on the house is done by the MSR registered workers.

If you are interested in helping this very worthwhile charity there are several things you can do. Why not hire a registered MSR worker to assist with anything from DIY to renovations and gardening? Call (021) 448 9001/2 or 072304 1793 or visit www.unemploymen.co.za for further information.