Collen Mashawana was first known for Afribiz Building Ltd, a multi-disciplinary construction company, with capabilities over a wide range of different technical fields within the construction Industry since 2016. He was just going to build skyrise buildings, houses, for free, for South Africa’s most needy.
While Afribiz building is registered with the Construction Industry Development Board as a contractor with the ability to perform work within the 6CE 5ME, 7GB scope and is a BBBEE level one contributor and is wholly black-owned and managed, Mashawana responded to the call of his spirit in 2012 and started the Collen Mashawana Foundation.
He refers to his foundation as a church. The church of doing and loving. The foundation was founded with the objective of assisting the elderly citizen, people living with disabilities and child-headed families. His most memorable work was when the devastating floods hit KZN, leaving many South Africans dead, misplaced or with no property at all.
Mashawana sent trucks of food, clothes, blankets and promised to build houses for the worst-hit families. He didn’t delay on his promise. Some days later Mashawana sent some structural engineers to look at the damaged properties and in a few weeks construction got under way.
To date he has built more than 200 houses for destitute families at no cost to them. Part of his bigger projects is the supply of clean water to destitute communities.
An exciting mission is Mashawana’s technology and innovation movement, a class that will teach youths on finding solutions to healthcare and development challenges using technology. Science and technology education is going to define much of the learning material of the world and Mashawana is not going to let South Africa lag behind.
Saturday Star