Alex woman’s undying love and care for fellow human beings
She dreams of ultimately building a shelter for the vulnerable township children.
An Alex woman’s determination to succeed, coupled with a vision and an undying desire to love and care for her fellow human beings, has kept her going even in the darkest of days.
This is the story of Tsutsumani Village’s Salamina Mashigo (65) whose pain of growing up without a mother and in the care of an abusive uncle did not ferment an element of distrust and hatred, but gave rise to a person with a formidable desire to love and care for her fellow human beings.
Mashigo married early and at age 31 she was divorced and burdened with the task of single-handedly providing for her only daughter. “I had to beg for and collect leftover food from funerals, parties and other social events just to ensure she had something to eat.
“This happened for more than a year and it solidified my desire to help others who might be in the same predicament as I am. It taught me to care for others as life was like a wheel in the sky that kept on turning and you don’t know where you will be tomorrow,” she said.
This is when she founded Ponelopele in 1999 which was registered in 2011 and has flourished ever since.
As if her past suffering was not enough, Mashigo had depression and suffered a stroke and doctors recommended that she be offered a grant. With that grant, she started serving meals to her fellow residents of Helen Joseph Hostel and the numbers just grew and grew, including community members from outside the hostel.
Her humanitarian work got noticed by Pick n Pay who offered her ‘waste’ food for her feeding scheme and Dischem Foundation also supported her cause. Mashigo now dreams of building a place of safety for children where they can sleep, eat, play, and go to school having had a warm meal every day. As part of ensuring her legacy remains and is sustained, she has teamed up with the visionary Patrick Baloyi of the TB Settlement in Alex.
Baloyi and his team have vowed to continue the legacy of Mme Salamina. “We shall do our level best to ensure the shelter is built,” Baloyi said, hinting that they already have people waiting in the wings to build once approval of the application has finally been obtained from the City of Johannesburg.
