Not a day should go by when you don't talk to your neighbour. That's the motto behind a new force sweeping through Hlalani township that has seen members of the community, north-west of Dr Jacob Zuma Drive, experience small miracles.
Not a day should go by when you don't talk to your neighbour. That's the motto behind a new force sweeping through Hlalani township that has seen members of the community, north-west of Dr Jacob Zuma Drive, experience small miracles.
It's the force that saw a little girl get to attend school for the first time and a couple who died tragically in December given a full funeral. Their families would not have been able to afford anything but the most basic burial.
Neighbours need to help each other in difficult times, Ward 7 Councillor Malibongwe Khubalo, explained to Grocott's Mail as he waited outside an RDP house in Hlalani on Monday. Along with Community Development Worker, Luleka Mthimtwa, and ward committee member, Vumeka Sodladla, he was waiting to spring a special surprise on a special little person.
When Zanele Magida (7), barefoot and dressed in a faded skirt and top, arrived back from school she did indeed get the surprise of her young life, as the team presented her with a new school uniform and a backpack. They'd bought it from their own pockets and although it hadn't arrived in time for her first day, at least she'd be stepping out proudly for the rest of the year.
hubalo had already taken care of her school fees for the year. Khubalo and his team recently launched Know your Neighbour in the ward, to encourage members of the community to look after each other. As part of this initiative they have done door-to-door visits in the ward.
When they knocked on the door of the house where Zanele lives, they discovered that she lived with her frail grandparents and two siblings. At seven years old, she had never attended pre-school. Her elderly grandparents were both struggling with health problems and had not been able to enrol her.
The family barely survives on their social grants and every day is a struggle. While the family prepared lunch from half a loaf of brown bread and a sachet of Drink a Pop, Grocott's Mail spoke to Zanele's mother, Lindisa Duruwa.
Leaning on the wall of the family's RDP house, she said, I am happy that Zanele has been able to start school. Duruwa is unemployed and lives in Vukani with her husband. Her children's father lives in Plettenberg Bay. Duruwa said she had decided it was better that the children stay with his mother, who received the children's grants.
Other poverty-stricken homes in the area have found support from the programme. The 'Know your Neighbour' campaign encourages neighbours to know each other. A day must not go by without talking to your neighbour, said Khubalo, saying that neighbours need to help each other in difficult times.
He cited the case of the couple who burned to death in their home in December. The couple's family didn't have the money to organise a proper funeral, so he and his team went door-to-door, collecting money and food. There were people who gave their last packet of rice, Khubalo said. The families ended up having a decent funeral.
Mthimtwa said the campaign was important because people were often failed by government departments, particularly in emergency cases. Khubalo encouraged other wards to foster the same culture of knowing and caring about one's neighbour. Oh – and how was Zanele's first day at school? I had a great day at school, she said, shyly. Now read the word on the street – Page 4: What makes a good neighbour?
