Khaya Lam opens doors to dignity and homeownership

When Terry Markman, the executive project manager of Khaya Lam, stepped forward to accept the 2025 Bertie Lubner Humanitarian Award in hour of Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris, he carried with him the quiet pride of a man representing thousands of families whose lives have changed through a single document. 

“The organisation has helped 21 000 council tenants become homeowners,” he told the audience. The number drew applause, but the real power of his words lay in what they meant. Each title deed represents security, independence, and the start of generational wealth. 

Markman’s voice softened as he credited those who came before him. “Khaya Lam wouldn’t exist without Dr Anton Rupert and Perry Feldman. They should be accepting this award,” he said. Both men envisioned a South Africa in which ordinary people could legally own the homes they had lived in for years, a simple idea that became a quiet revolution. 

Founded under the Free Market Foundation, Khaya Lam – which means “my home” – works with municipalities, funders, and banks to convert long-term rental housing into ownership. The project’s genius is its practicality. It doesn’t build new houses. It changes the status of existing ones, transferring title deeds from councils to the families who live there. 

The evening’s audience, filled with business leaders and community figures, seemed moved by the straightforward power of it. “Thank you to Absa and Investec for their support, and for providing financial education for beneficiaries,” Markman said. He then looked up from his notes, and made a quiet appeal to the audience. “We need your help to keep doing this work.” 

That call hung in the air. In a country still scarred by housing inequality, the notion of home ownership as empowerment struck a deep chord. For the Jewish community, long involved in social-impact projects, Khaya Lam’s work resonated as an example of tikkun olam (repairing the world) through practical, measurable change. 

Khaya Lam’s progress is also a testament to partnership. Local municipalities collaborate on land transfers, and banks fund legal processes. Each transaction is modest on its own, but together, they signal a shift in ownership that reaches across provinces. 

The award, named for Lubner, himself a philanthropist who believed in combining compassion with competence, could hardly have found a better home this year. Khaya Lam represents what South Africans do best when vision meets persistence: they fix things.