Gill Hammond is not your average charity manager. Armed with her carpentry tools, she embraced the opportunity to use her talents for good, turning a donation of unconventional timber into a vital solution at Domino Foundation’s Othandweni shelter.
Durban, South Africa (02 May 2025) – When our personal skills and talents can directly help or pour into those in need, it fosters a sense of community and helps us be a part of something greater than just ourselves.
Gill Hammond is handy with a carpenter’s set square, saw, hammer and nails. When she was presented with the opportunity to use her skills to create much-needed shelving at Othandweni, Domino Foundation’s women’s shelter, where she is also a manager, she grabbed her tools and got to work!
The shelter, which is a place of safety for survivors of gender-based violence and human trafficking, had a shortage of shelving. As a result, whenever new stock arrived, heavy boxes had to be moved manually to make space, making it difficult to access boxes at the bottom of the pile.
Domino’s Red Light programme, which facilitates the intake of women, had no funds for storage in Othandweni’s garage. Not daunted, Gill put her woodworking skills to good use and knocked up a rather impressive shelving unit.
This project, which goes beyond her managerial duties, was largely made possible thanks to a donation of ullage sticks. While the timber wasn’t ideal and wouldn’t have been strong enough to carry the weight of the boxes, Gill’s very practical and creative expertise shone.
According to Domino, the storage system she designed and put together has made the intimidating job of tackling a mini-mountain of boxes a thing of the past.
Gill also believes that the project served as a powerful living lesson for the shelter’s residents, demonstrating how self-help can address and solve a challenge at hand.
“We are not only involved with restoration and healing the broken lives of the people in our small community of up to 12 survivors and those who work with them. We also aim to empower them with a range of skills so that they are confident about stepping into a new life when they leave us,” Gill shares.
Gill’s woodworking skills, applied with heart, haven’t just created tangible improvements to the shelter but also inspired the women it serves, too.
Sources: Supplied
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