Mooi leaves Alex with a heavy heart
ALEXANDRA – I am sad to be leaving and I do so with a heavy heart but at some point in life one has to move on, says Mooi.
Former Rays of Hope CEO Sihle Mooi is a sad man to be leaving his ‘beloved Alexandra’ and said he did so with a heavy heart.
But one thing that consoled him was that he may not be totally lost to the iconic township as he was joining Jam International as country director.
Jam International is a Roodepoort-based organisation that is also in the space of building communities but at a much larger scale, as it works in all the nine provinces of this country and has a footprint in several African countries as well.
“I will not be totally lost to Alex though as I have given myself the task of being an advocate and ambassador for Alexandra wherever I go and whatever I do. No one comes to Alex and remains the same. The people of Alexandra will forever be in my heart.
“Even though I will no longer be based in Alex with Rays of Hope, I will continue to follow with interest the developments in the township and use the new platform God has given me to continue to spread the word around the Alex cause,” Mooi told Alex News.
Mooi cut his career teeth with Rays of Hope in Alex in 2015, managing the Child Headed Households programme and just a year later, he was appointed as the CEO of Rays of Hope.
“It was this programme that exposed me to the harsh realities and challenges of life in this township. It was heartbreaking to see them [residents] struggle to access basic services enshrined in our Constitution, including all forms of domestic and gender-based violence.”
Mooi quickly became friends with so many community leaders in Alex, both young and old, especially the father of the township, uBab’uLinda Twala for his support and guidance.
Mooi and his team formed a WhatsApp group, Alex Community Partners, to enhance relief delivery to the needy and vulnerable, and to provide communication among the various community organisations for these much-needed services.
In 2019, 20 local organisations partnered to eradicate shack fires through the #WarmUpAlex winter campaign, and also partnered with emerging businesses to create Alexbiz Network which today has 200 members.
When the Covid-19 lockdown hit in 2020, Mooi and his team brought together 30 local organisations that collaborated to feed more than 80 000 people through the #Hope4Alex campaign which received international attention and was mentioned in the New York Times.
The initiative has continued into 2021 and Mooi said he was grateful to the community of Alexandra who opened its heart to him. “I am sad to be leaving my beloved Alexandra and I do so with a heavy heart but at some point in life one has to move on.”
