Martha’s passion to help needy people
Martha Motaung's love for people is the reason why she is determined to continue serving the people in need.
The 59-year-old Welgedacht resident feeds 120 children from Welgedacht and Slovo Park twice a week.
“To date I have seen the hunger in the eyes of many children who, when they arrive at the centre for the first time, haven’t eaten for a day or two,” says Martha.
She says it breaks her heart to see them like that, but it gives her great pleasure to watch them after they have eaten.
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“Their appreciation goes beyond words,” she says.
To date she also hands out food parcels to 78 senior citizens once a week.
The parcels include whatever Martha receives from sponsors, whether it is vegetables, fruit, mealie meal, sump or even meat at times.
She registered the centre as a non-profit organisation on November 2 and believes the NPO registration will open doors for them as they can provide the certificate to sponsors.
Her passion to help others in need started when she was a teenager living in Sundra with her mother and other siblings.
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She has witnessed poverty and financial strains on parents who couldn’t provide food for the children or send them to school.
Martha made a decision that one day she would help people who are in need.
Not being able to go to school herself, she felt it best to work hard to provide for her own family.
One day she saw a few children scratching in dustbins to find something to eat.
At the time she was working for Elsie de Kock in Welgedacht and asked her if they cannot start a soup kitchen to feed these hungry children.
They started Hosannah Community Centre, but it had to close its doors when Elsie moved to Durban in 2014.
But nothing could stand in Martha’s way as she was adamant she would still serve the community.
With the help of her daughter, Maropelo Motaung (24) she managed to start the Motaung Community Centre.
Maropelo believes her mother’s passion for the poor was passed onto her as they are both making a difference in the lives of the desperate and needy people in the community.
Anna Zietsman (39), one of Martha’s helpers, says the joy on the faces of those children after they have received a plate of food is more rewarding than anything else in the world.
Martha and her team will continue to reach out to those in need, despite the challenges they face of not receiving enough donations of vegetables or other necessities.
