Women of uManyano emerge from lockdown with visit to Alex Hospice
ALEXANDRA – We’re here to play our small part in an effort to alleviate this suffering, says Olga Makeng.
The dilapidated Alex Hospice and Rehab Centre was turned into a beautiful sea of red when Omama bo Manyano descended on the centre in their colourful uniform.
The women came from the Town Region of the Methodist Church which is made up of six circuits under the Central Synod converged on the hospice, bearing gifts and groceries for the residents, some of whom are terminally ill patients.
“This is part and parcel of our outreach programme as women of uManyano, which was put on ice following the outbreak of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdown of the country and banning of mass gatherings which also affected worship,” said Olga Makeng, the coordinator of the Town Region of the Methodist Church.
The region is made up of six circuits of the Central Synod which includes Alexandra Joburg, South Rand, Joburg North, Central Methodist Mission, Joburg East, and Fourways.
Speaking in an interview with Alex News, Makeng said the women of uManyano have a relationship with the hospice which dates back many years that eventually led to its adoption as an outreach project of the Town Region.
“Being an outreach project of the Town Region entails us gathering here three times a year for spiritual ministry to the residents of hospice along with its employees and also to get to understand some of the needs of the hospice as an institution so as to continue offering this valuable service to the community.”
Makeng said this was their first outreach programme since the advent of Covid-19 and they hope and pray that the pandemic may come to an end so they could return to their normal routine and schedule of outreach activities.
The roughly 60 women in the outreach programme today are acutely aware of the challenges of Covid-19 in communities such as loss of income from being jobless, the many breadwinners and members of families that perished in the pandemic and the resultant widespread hunger, Makeng added.
“We’re here to play our small part in an effort to alleviate this suffering as we are called upon by our Central Synod president Girlly Lekeka to minister and witness to a deeply distressed world. That is our guiding theme for all that we do in the communities,” she said.
