Thembisile Ngubane, a Habitat homeowner in Durban, South Africa, makes her own clothes to save money.

South African Woman Finds Little Left at Month's End

Thembisile Ngubane is a woman who gives. She gives to others, working as an AIDS counselor in a clinic about 20 kilometers from her Habitat house. She gives for the sake of her family, spending her "free" time working odd jobs like sewing or extra counseling to help make ends meet. She gives for the sake of her son, Sibo, directing her yearly bonus of 1,500 rand (US $142) toward her son's education. And she finds comfort in her spirituality: "We need our own desert, so that we can learn to trust Him," she says. "Otherwise we stay in our comfort zone and think we don't need God. My faith gives me power to remove all mountains in my life."

Thembisile usually earns enough to cover monthly expenses, but there is little left over. Holidays are difficult when there is simply no extra money for gifts. She says everything always works out, though, through the generosity of friends who have helped pay for Sibo's school trips and for a moving van when her Habitat house was finished. Also, because she works in a clinic, she and Sibo receive free health care and medication, saving them about 200 rand (US $20) a month.

--Reported by Samantha Schroeder