Launch day: As we flew in on our final approach I stuck my head out of the chopper door and looked down at the waters of the lake 5,000 feet below.

Boats were lined up and pillars of orange smoke ascended, indicating wind direction, so we could land our parachutes in the right place.

I caught a glimpse of the house sitting proudly on the banks of the dam.

My mind took me back to June last year, when I had sat at the bedside of my father in hospital – what turned out to be his death bed.

We would pass a notepad back and forth for several hours as we sketched out the design of the house I was now viewing – a house he never got to see.

I still have the drawings in my office. His sketches looked like they were done by a child; his body was being pumped with chemotherapy drugs as he drew.

As I left the plane I smiled and knew he would have been proud today.

My happiness was mixed with sadness. I wished he was there to see it.

‘This one’s for you pop,’ I said as I leapt into the South African sky.

On landing I was greeted with a carnival atmosphere.

Hundreds of locals were singing and dancing and a BBC director and five cameras were covering the day. National and international press had gathered. All were there to cover the official launch of the world’s first zero carbon footprint children’s home - the building my dad had designed before his death.

A CEO from a top Durban business said to me that day: ‘This is the most exciting thing to have happened here in 30 years.’

This is just the beginning, though. We have the capacity to build 100 of these unique homes each year. This is not something that could be a reality – it should be a reality!

[Show as slideshow]

Remember this is orphan capital of the world and there are countless children waiting.

My dad is no longer here, but what a footprint he has left behind.
We are in position to build 100 of these homes per year.
We have a BBC production coming out in the next few months so keep your eyes open for that.
This is hopefully the very beginning for project O and the children of South Africa!
The goal- 100 homes per year!
Help us do just that!
Email martin@projecto.org.za

The day kicked off with Gugu and Thuthu ZUMA (the president’s daughters) flying in by helicopter thanks to STARLITE aviation. They landed at the world’s first zero carbon foot print , self sufficient children’s home at around 8am.
Let Jo Davison tell the story through exerts from her recent article in THE STAR, NEWSPAPER, UK.

It’s taken a thousand days, but finally his dream of building a children’s home for orphans in the South African Valley Of A Thousand Hills has been realised.
Sheffield man Martin Downs arrived in the Aids capital of the world three years ago with nothing more than determination and a pile of suitcases.

“We arrived with nothing but plans and dreams,” admits Martin, of High Storrs.

Today, their charity Project O has received publicity and support from around the world.

Last month the charity officially launched their first purpose-built children’s home in the hills which will house six orphans and either a Government-approved house mother or a blood grandmother.

The house is being described as the world’s first totally sustainable, zero carbon footprint children’s home and its launch was attended by the daughters of South African President Jacob Zuma, along with hundreds of local tribes people and the world’s press.

“It was such a coup for us to have the president’s daughters present. Gugu and Thuthu are lovely, humble girls who were full of praise for what we are doing and pledged their continued support, ” says Martin, a keen sky-diver who last year parachuted his charity into the world record books with a publicity-generating six sky-dives over six different continents in six days.

He dived down to the crowds over an area he hopes will one day be dotted with scores of identical Project O homes, saying a few words of thanks to a man who had been so pivotal to the house’s success – his father Philip Downs, who died last December at the age of 66.

Former design technology teacher Philip had always planned to fly out to South Africa to help his son. But cancer put paid to his dream. So instead, he worked on plans for the structure from his home in Rotherham.

“Dad was a practical man, a natural builder. He came up with lots of ideas and when he was really ill, I’d sit at his bedside in the Northern General Hospital and he would be drawing plans and working out where we could put the staircases and the internal walls.

“He was having chemotherapy at the time and we were all convinced he would get better and finally make the journey.

The house his father helped to create in a land he had never set foot in, to help children he would never meet, is a lasting testimony, though.

“We call the house Ekhya Impilo, the House Of Life and it is fantastic. It has always been our dream to keep orphaned children safe, well, fed and schooled in their communities and the foster cluster home is a major step towards furthering that goal,” says Martin, 34.

“The structure is in keeping with the traditional tribal home, yet boasts scores of features that mean the children who live there can be self-sufficient.

It is structurally sound enough to last at least 100 years and uses the area’s natural resources to provide its own power and food.

“The children we select to live there will leave the only homes they have ever known, which essentially are shacks on a mountainside with no water. They will move into a home with solar-generated water and a 12-metre wind turbine powering light bulbs and a washing machine. Wireless internet will help them to do their homework and the children will be taught to grow produce, keep livestock and compost their organic waste.

“One individual can feel so powerless against the rising tide of children orphaned through HIV/Aids in South Africa that we’re paralysed into doing nothing to help,” said Charlene Erasmus, Trellidor brand and PR manager.  “So we were delighted as an organisation to assist Project O in securing the first house they’ve built for these children.  It’s such a positive and hopeful step forward in caring for them.”

Trellidor manufactures high quality security gates and burglar guards for windows, passages and doors.  The company has been involved in many child-focussed projects, often through its independent franchise network.  “Many of our franchise owners try to give back to the communities in which they work through sponsorships such as this one,” said Charlene.

“What really appealed to us was that through this housing programme as well as many other Project O initiatives, orphaned children are kept within the communities they are familiar with, surrounded by their siblings as well as people that know their personal history,” said Charlene.

Franchise owners Greg Roux (Trellidor Durban West) and Laird Anderson (Trellidor North Durban and Dolphin Coast) were only too happy to help. Their security consultants and installers secured all the windows as well as the door to this home with Trellidor barriers.  “We’ve ensured that there are retractable barriers on some of the windows as these can be used an escape route if the door is inaccessible due to fire or some other emergency,” said Greg and Laird.

“There are many people involved in Project O’s mission to assist the children in this area, which has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in the world, but we are particularly grateful to founders Martin and Vashti Downs who had the vision necessary to drive such a project.”

Authored by:      
Lindy Barry      
P R Consultant      
Trellicor Group      
Tel: +44 11 453 9304      
Mobile    083 251 7019   
Email: lbarry@trellidor.co.za    

For Further Information:
Charlene Erasmus
Brand and P R Manager
Trellicor Group
Tel:   082 879 3051  
 
email: cerasmus@trellidor.co.za