Angel with heart of gold
Known as the water angel, Sara Manamela doesn't have much but is always willing to share the little she has with others in need.
POLOKWANE – Sara begins her day early in the morning when she goes through rubbish bins collecting glass. From broken mirrors to empty bottles, if its glass, she adds it to her trolley. She says if she collects enough glass, she can exchange it for cash. “I earn a living collecting glass. If I don’t collect any, I don’t eat,” she explains.
Sara got the name “Water Angel” from residents in the rural area close to Greenside where she lives because she collects water bottles of the elderly, fills them with water and then returns them to their owners. “I gather the water containers of elderly and sick people in my area, fill them up and then take them back to the people. Many of them can’t manage the walk to the tap and don’t have anyone to help them. I do this because I know one day I will be too old to collect my own water and someone will do the same for me.” says Sara. She says being known as the water angel doesn’t make her feel special because she does it out of love and not for fame. Although it is time consuming, Sara says she doesn’t mind doing it because she knows she is doing something good.
“I would have loved to be a nurse but as God would have it, I am the water angel,” she says. “In rural areas, we depend on one another to get things done.”
She added that a lot of people think people in rural areas live in isolation but this is a misconception because they are a very tight-knit community.
She encourages everyone to do good and help each other, not to gain something from it but simply because it is the right thing to do.
