Stokvel changes lives

Alexandra may be characterised as a basket case whose residents sit on the side of the road with begging bowls. But little do people know that there are millionaires residing in this historic and oldest ‘Mother of All’ townships.

There is even a street in the Eastbank section that has been nicknamed ‘Millionaires Street’ as most of its residents are all well to do people who lead lavish lifestyles and drive the most expensive cars, and not just one but several of them. So are the women members of Alex’s richest stokvel. Their lives have never been the same since they started their stokvel, Ratanang Women’s Club. Their lives and those of their immediate families will never be mediocre again.

From struggling to making ends meet in their households, the stokvel association has transformed the lives of the 25 members of Ratanang who have managed to build the lavish lifestyles they lead today. From the proceeds of the stokvel, the women have been able to furnish their houses with all sorts of expensive furniture, including the latest TV sets, fridges, stoves, warmers and pricey dishes and accompanying cutlery.

They have also been able to educate their children in the most expensive private schools in Johannesburg and at the same time send them to varsity as well. The women boast of graduates in engineering, law, business administration and other spheres of the country’s economy as a result of the clubbing in the stokvel.

It all started in 2005, when one of their friends, popularly known as Makirikiri, died and there was hardly any money to give her a decent burial. “We had to scrounge around to raise enough money for a decent burial and it then dawned on us as friends that we should club together and put away some money for such eventualities.

“It was at this juncture that we decided to transform our long-standing friendship into a formal organisation and Ratanang Women’s Club was born,” said Nomathemba Magubane, who is the treasurer and secretary of the club. She said the women started off as school friends and neighbours who would frequently meet over a cup of tea or some drinks and just enjoy each other’s company. “We were just ordinary friends and we decided to transform that friendship into something more concrete and caring,” she added.

As aptly implied by Ratanang, which is a Setswana word for ‘love each other’, the women so loved each others’ friendship and decided to concretise it into a more caring embodiment of the philosophy of Ubuntu. “We felt we could not just continue a friendship of tea and drinks that does not recognise the harsh realities of life such as death,” Magubane added.

In fear of the criminal element, Magubane would not want to discuss the wealth of the stokvel but serve to confirm that it was the richest club in Alexandra. “Our lives will no longer be the same again. Clubbing together has helped transform our fortunes tremendously. I shudder to think where and how we would have been without the stokvel,” she said.

Every month one member hosts the club and that month is considered her birthday. “We then buy her presents and from the contributions made, we leave her with a certain lump sum while a portion of it goes into the burial kitty in the bank.

Every December the club takes its members on a holiday to a pre-determined resort of their choice. Payments for this trip come from the surplus from the bereavement fund. The women have already been to the famous beaches of Durban and various other resorts in the country, including the North West’s Sun City and its offerings.