By REGINALD KANYANE
8 December 2025- Christmas came early for a child-headed family of five in Bodibe village, near Itsoseng. This comes after the family received the keys to their newly-built and fully-furnished house from the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi.
The Koba family had been living in difficult conditions since losing both their parents. Their mother passed away earlier this year and their father died a few years ago.
The department approached one of its housing developers to assist the family by building them a home. The department partnered with Leano 87 Solutions to construct the new house as part of its mandate to create sustainable human settlements and improve people’s lives.
Kabelo Koba (25), the eldest of the family, explained that they had been destitute and struggling to make ends meet since the death of their parents. Of the five children, only two—Kabelo and Naledi (23)—receive the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant, while Motheo (17), Boitshepo (7) and Kamano(3) receive the Child Support Grant.
The family has been surviving on these grants, which Kabelo said were not enough to sustain them.
“This is a great relief for us as a family because we will now live in peace without worrying about being chased away. We would like to thank the department and everyone who played a role in improving our lives,” he said.
Meanwhile, Molapisi stated that the government is committed to ensuring that the people of the North West receive the services they deserve. He said the department needs to strengthen coordination with all three spheres of government to speed up service delivery.
“The department is mandated to build houses for citizens, despite challenges related to housing development. As the department, we must ensure that we prioritise marginalised groups—women, child-headed families and people living with disabilities—to ensure they receive the necessary support and benefit from government services,” he said.
According to the Head of Department, Kgomotso Mahlobo, the Department of Social Development first alerted Human Settlements about the family’s plight. Mahlobo said Social Development also provided the family with food parcels as part of fulfilling children’s basic rights.
The Guardian 