The group celebrated its three-year anniversary with community members and some of their beneficiaries at the Faranani Community Centre over the weekend.
The group was formed three years ago by 250 pensioned women who were concerned about the rate of poverty in their area.
Sanah Tshabangu says they decided to come together after seeing the many struggling households in the community.
• Read: Helping with poverty alleviation
“We could not turn a blind eye and pretend that there were no children going to bed on an empty stomach.
“As women we decided to donate R100 monthly towards buying grocery vouchers for 26 households,” she says.
Sanah says they are proud that the initiative has continued to touch lives.
“We now sleep with a clear conscience, knowing that the burden of poverty has been lifted from the shoulders of these households.
“We know that the social grant they receive monthly is not always enough.
“In this way, through the grocery donations, they can stretch the money to take care of other needs,” she says.
Sanah says they also meet every morning to exercise.
• Also read: Creating ways of alleviating poverty
“We have realised that a lot of elderly people are often locked behind closed doors and only allowed outside when they go to collect their pension grants.
“This leads to them being depressed.
“We decided to meet to exercise, have regular health talks and work in the gardens,” she says.
Sanah says this helps to restore the elders’ dignity and lets them engage with their peers on a daily basis.
