The spirit of Ubuntu prevails
Two learners of Suikerland Secondary School's girls and boys educational movement (GBEM) club donated a meal to Ungasakhali community and orphanage centre.
MALALANE – Two learners of Suikerland Secondary School’s girls and boys educational movement (GBEM) club donated a meal to Ungasakhali community and orphanage centre.
Simphiwe Shakwane (14) chairman of the club and Clinton Madonsela (15) a member, together with their teacher Ms Ingrid Jacobs donated, because they wanted to do more for their communities. The club was established on the values of giving to the community, educating youngsters and supporting one another.
Past Busie Langa met these boys on Monday July 7, for the first time, and they were overwhelmed by her gratitude. She said to the learners, “Thank you, I am so grateful the donations have been slow this winter, this will help so much. The children and I appreciate the support, it encourages me to keep going on.”
The centre usually feeds about 180 children aged up to 18 years, breakfast and lunch, but this depends entirely on donations from the community. It is based in Mzinti and was officially registered as a community centre in 2010 but Past Langa says they were feeding the hungry long before that. “I go door to door for donations, our hardest battle is getting recognised by the government for funding but till then we have to rely on our peoples’ continued support,” she explained.
Simphiwe told Corridor Gazette, they learned of Ungasakhali community and orphanage centre through an article in Corridor Gazette and Ms Poonam Dwarkaram, principal of Kidz Paradise kindergarten, who has made it her personal mission to improve surrounding communities. She said, “I am absolutely amazed by these learners, they are the only ones who responded to the cry for help. It is such a huge gesture, I just wish bigger companies would reach out and help support their communities.”
According to Jacobs the learners write detailed reports on all their projects during the year and submit them to the local municipality. “This is done by the GBEM club in order to keep the municipality up to date on its everyday projects.”
Municipal employee and Simphiwe’s mentor, Ms Veronica Moosa said, “These learners are doing a great job. We fully support them in their projects and we are currently looking for donations in the form of seedlings that might assist the centre to provide sustainable food. This is not yet final but we hope to assist in many ways. We are proud of them and we hope they continue their work.”
If you would like to make a contribution to this centre or require more information, you can call Past Busie Langa on 082-978-9067.
