JESSE NEILL

A GAWLER woman received the surprise of a lifetime when she arrived home on Monday afternoon.

Met by dozens of friends and family, Sequioah Watkins discovered that, over six weeks, her house had been transformed by a group of committed and generous locals from a ‘renovators delight’  into a safe home for her and her two boys.

One of Ms Watkin’s closest friends and organiser of the renovation, Sarah Munn, said a change in circumstances meant the single mum only had 28 days to move into her new home.

“It was uninhabitable and the home didn’t even have running water or a toilet when work began in early October,” Mrs Munn said.

“The house has essentially gone from a frame to an entire build in a matter of weeks.”

Sarah said the idea started with a general ‘working bee’, but grew into something much more powerful as the project started to gain momentum.

“We started a gofundme page along with a secret Facebook group which now has over 220 members and has helped us raise over $5000,” she said.

“Over 20 local businesses have also donated their time and supplies and we’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from friends and strangers alike.

“Every phone call I made people wanted to get involved.

At the first working bee we had so many people there that by midday we ran out of things to do.

“We refer to it as the house that love built and it has certainly showed the amount of love that is out there for this woman. It has completely restored our faith in humanity.

Mrs Watkins appeared overwhelmed during Monday’s reveal and said she was left speechless by the whole project.

“I don’t know what to say. I had a suspicion something was going on, but not to this scale,” she said.

“to have all of you come together to help me is indescribable… I want to thank all of you, including those that I don’t know, for your generosity and support.

“I’m still taking in all the work and there’s still some things I’m only noticing now.

“I feel truly loved and blessed and you’ve changed my life forever.”