The City of Ekurhuleni handed over branded T-shirts to Tembisa Self Help Association for the Disabled (T-SHAD).
On October 3, a member of the mayoral committee (MMC) in Environment and Waste Management Services Clr Ndosi Shongwe presented the shirts to T-shad beneficiaries.
The T-shirts bear both the City of Ekurhuleni’s logo and T-shad’s logo.
Shongwe commended the hard work done at T-shad and encouraged members to continue with the spirit of commitment.
“We were here on July 18 to celebrate Mandela Day and we had a nice time with T-shad members. We eventually promised to come back and donate 100 T-shirts and seeds.
Today, we as the Department of Environment and Waste Management are here to hand over those T-shirts to beneficiaries,” said Shongwe.
She added they wanted T-shad members to positively represent Ekurhuleni when they go to other regions.
Shongwe said the City also wanted them to feed on the plants that were donated on the day.
The MMC said they chose to assist T-shad because they saw the conditions under which T-shad members lived. Some live with disabilities but are not affected by their circumstances.
“T-shad members are engaged in many activities. They plant and they also do recycling. They are working hard and we as the government must encourage them.
“They look very happy. I was here on September 3 at Mehlareng Stadium where the premier handed over Tuk-Tuk trollies to recycling co-operatives. T-shad was part of that event and they looked happy. Even today they are still happy.
“They do not exclude themselves but work together with us. The community must support T-shad to give its members the needed courage,” said Shongwe.
Marketing executive for Green Development Foundation, Kavuli Nyali, was among the attendees and said her foundation had adopted T-shad as another NGO under the foundation.
“We’ve employed 12 people that go out into the neighbourhood and pick waste; we call them eco-guides.
“As a result, they are able to bring back recycled items, sort them and create an income for themselves. We help them develop food gardens and have almost 500 beneficiaries who eat produce from those gardens.
“We plan on planting more and we have also donated R5 000 so we can continue with more programmes,” said Nyali.
After the handing over of the T-shirts the MMC planted some of the donated seeds.
