The Block teams turning houses into homes

  • 25/07/2016
(The Block)
(The Block)

Watch part 2 here

The Block contestants have lent their renovation skills to houses that deserve to be turned into homes.

Normally the four teams take part in challenges for their benefit but the aim of tonight's game was to give.

The Block teamed up with Foster Hope and the Dingwall Trust to renovate four bedrooms for children in need.

The Block teams turning houses into homes

(One of the rooms before the renovation. The Block)

Dingwall Trust manager Emma Berry says the children they work with have often suffered abuse at the hands of the people they should have been able to trust.

She says it gives the children a beautiful space and helps build their self-confidence.

"They often believe their life is not worth anything, so something like this sends such a profound message, message that others care about them."

Ms Berry says because the buildings that house the children are heritage sites so renovations are typically too expensive.

"They have to do things with a lot of rules and regulations."

Recently the trust had to fix six chimneys at a cost of $1 million.

"There are limited resources, redecorating isn't necessarily a priority because there are other priorities."

And Ms Berry says the children love the rooms, joking with her they are "famous now".

"One seven-year-old said to me 'this is best day ever, we are so lucky'."

"I am so, so grateful for what they have created, the lift in the atmosphere that happened when they all arrived, the excitement it created."

"They did really, really well in creating rooms that can be for both [genders]," says Ms Berry.

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