Life Begins at Forty takes Alexandra by storm
The Alex Life Begins at Forty NPO has taken Alexandra by storm as the organisation continues to experience phenomenal growth since its inception in March last year.
Life begins at 40 – so they say – and it surely does in Alexandra as an organisation by that name has seen phenomenal growth over the past two or so years of its existence.
This phrase has become so popular thanks to the American philosopher, Walter B. Pitkin, who published a self-help book in 1932 entitled “Life Begins at Forty”.
The book sought to reinforce the message that people above forty have acquired the wealth, the skills and experiences and wised up enough to make good decisions and hence can start to freely enjoy the fruits of living more than their junior counterparts who might still be chasing the elusive rat race of life.
Started by Alex journalist Jimmy Masingi in March of 2021 as a social networking and entertainment group on WhatsApp, little did Masingi realise that he was starting something that would become humongous as a dinosaur.
When the organisation quickly swelled its ranks, Masingi, as chairperson, decided to introduce other wings to the organisation, one of which was the stokvel element that contributed R2 000 per person, rotating among its 30 members then.
“When we realised its enormous savings potential, we decided to branch out towards a savings club where we put away R600 every month as members from January 2022. The accrued funds in the saving club will then be shared a year later – January 2023.
“Our aim is to kill this beast that has become to be known as ‘Janworry’ which simply means that people spend so much over the festive season that they empty their pockets and in January they then have worries about how they will buy school uniforms, books, shoes and socks, etc for their children,” Masingi told Alex News in an interview.
Masingi said a funeral cover for group members has since been established and Soweto businessman, Monty Dlamini is said to have been bowled by the idea and fallen head over heels in love with the idea such that he donated R50 000 to kick-start the funeral scheme which will be launched in January next year.
Calling on Alexandrians to join the movement, Masingi, whose organisation is said to be registered with the Department of Social Development as an NPO, said they had 120 fully registered members and anticipate hitting the 200-mark by April next year
Alex Life Begins At 40 was blessed by Alex FM, some of whose staffers are members, with a birthday cake the size of a medium table for its first birthday in March this year and has numerous donations to charitable institutions and individuals, including adopting a teenage boy with down syndrome.
Details: Jimmy Masingi 081 001 2764.
