At the dawn of democracy in South Africa over 30 years ago, the country had to right some big wrongs. The Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) was one such tool, by offering government-subsidized, low-cost homes to those who could not afford or access them previously. In their neat little rows of near-identical design, RDP houses are for free to the poorest and most needy. But as Elna Schutz reports from Johannesburg, the RDP hasn’t always worked out as hoped.