A woman of purpose

Adeline Singh wears many hats. She is a family woman, head of skills planning and head of research at Insurance SETA, and co-founder of Supporting Those In Need Together (STINT). Adeline grew up in a home that puts family and community first. She said she’s grateful to have always had people around her who were willing to help and uplift her. These instilled principles pushed her to begin volunteering with different churches.

“We did home visits in Diepsloot and saw what they needed. It was a tough life in Diepsloot and my eyes were really opened to hardships there. A lot of the families were tormented by the fact that their houses would get broken into in the middle of the night; and residents would talk about screams from the neighbouring shacks because someone was getting injured.” She said she would return home and count her fortune; a roof over her and a safe environment.

She said the most important thing to her is making an impact in someone’s life. This inspired her to start the organisation called STINT. “I spoke to someone in the neighbourhood, Tony da Silva, and we started STINT in January this year. I told him that when we embark on this journey, we have openness, transparency and that we impact lives. The initiative would be to support the elderly, and provide guidance and support to children who have no idea what career they want to enter. I know that if I can guide children on the right career path, they will be able to secure a good job and look after their families. And that is a chain reaction.”

The NPO recently raised funds and collected donations to take to KwaZulu-Natal following the looting and unrest. They wanted to help even if they did not collect a lot of money. “We thought, let’s just take something to KZN, whatever we can do God will make a way. By his grace, we raised over R60 000. We had a sponsor that gave us a truck. We had someone sponsor a driver. It was amazing how everything was coming together.” An additional 2 000 loaves of bread were donated for the trip. Once there, they helped 250 families. “People came from everywhere to volunteer and help us pack the groceries. The camaraderie and the community spirit were amazing.”

Adeline beams with pride when she talks about the work she does in the community. She said the work they do as STINT is her purpose. Heroes are often ordinary people in our communities, doing good deeds simply because it’s the right thing to do. “STINT will be a legacy we leave for the community. Everything I do must have relevance.”

Contact STINT at stint.team2021@gmail.com.