House of Mercy’s AGM highlights the centre’s challenges
During the meeting, it was revealed that the centre has since purchased a Suzuki bakkie after their Department of Social Development’s application was approved
Since the Department of Social Development (DSD) came to the aid of House of Mercy’s financial hardships during the 2018/19 period, things have been running smoothly.
This was revealed recently during the House of Mercy 2019/20’s virtual AGM.
According to chairperson Belekazi Mbelle, even though they have survived liquidation, the centre is still exercising caution when it comes to their financial activities.
“Coming from an era of possible insolvency, we all breathed a sigh of relief when the centre was saved from embarrassment. Even though we are continuing to exercise caution, there are still activities which still require cash injection. These include upgrading our IT environment and upgrading the security in the form of lighting or installing razor wires around the premises,” Mbelle said.
Mbelle said they were not totally out of the mud, but they are keeping their heads above water. She highlighted that there was an improvement in the total comprehensive income for the year, which spiked to R754 706 in 2020 from R183 596 in 2019.
Furthermore, she added that their fund-raising pockets were running dry.
“The centre is now totally depended on one primary donor, which is a risk that must be mitigated at all cost.”
Monica Mashiane, director of the centre, said as and when they have excess in their finances they try and pay off their staff’s outstanding salaries. Our municipality account, which was in arrears, has been reduced as we are up to date with our monthly payments,” she said.
During the meeting, it was announced that Lesley Bull, who was working part-time for the organisation, has joined them as a bookkeeper from May 2019 and is working three days a week. She takes over from Sister Regina, who had to relocate to Rosebank.
Donations
The centre has received donations from Woolworths, Pick n Pay, Dis-Chem and the Manger Centre, which have helped their patients who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
They have since purchased a Suzuki bakkie after their application from DSD was approved and an amount of R225 000 was deposited into their account on February 7.
The centre provides voluntary intensive residential treatment to chemically dependent people from the age of 18, giving preference to the most vulnerable and the poorest. They aim to facilitate the healing of each individual holistically, focusing on the physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual aspect.
Also Read: House of Mercy to hold virtual AGM
Also Read: House of Mercy survives liquidation as DSD approves grant
