Outbreak of Covid-19 propels Alex family’s spirit of giving

The outbreak of the Covid-19 global pandemic spelt a great need for families, friends and relatives to come even closer but the pandemic transcended all that and demanded that neighbours look after each and communities alike.

The family of Sanny Mashego was no different. She soon became a mother to everybody in the community, young and old, as she imparted a culture of sharing whatever little they had with not only her children but with neighbours and the community as a whole.

Sanny, who used to run a catering business before the outbreak of the pandemic, often shared her leftovers with her children and those of the neighbourhood. When Covid finally struck on the South African shores, Sanny had enough food for her family but was equally worried about the children she often shared the leftovers with.

This sparked the establishment of the Swaragano NPO, which is being run by an unemployed family graduate Mpho Mashego. The feeding scheme started off benefiting about 250 people, both young and old, in Alexandra on a daily basis and serves two meals, breakfast and lunch.

Mpho (29) is a public relations graduate from Rosebank College who has not been able to secure employment since 2017. Her mother, Sanny, established the Swaragano to feed kids during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 from their garage.

The aim was to alleviate the harsh effects of the lockdown which saw people lose jobs, leading to families running out of food. Sanny is a street vendor who sells food and would, on a daily basis, give her leftovers to children playing in her street.

“When Covid-19 happened, mama had lots of food from her business. As much as people were stocking up food for their families, she said she couldn’t just keep it just for us, ‘let’s share with others’. She was concerned about the kids she used to give leftovers,” Mpho said.

The Mashegos began cooking but as people had no food due to loss of income, even adults joined the queue. “In no time the demand for meals swelled to 350 people a day,” Mpho said. They also got help from the community in the form of about 20 volunteers who assisted them in making the meals.

The food soon ran out and Sanny took her savings to continue funding the kitchen. She went back to her business when the lockdown eased up, leaving her daughter to run the kitchen with six volunteers.

It relies on general donations from people who see Mpho’s posts on social media and Sanny still partly funds it, along with other Good Samaritans who donate. Mpho also does recycling of plastics and cans to get money to buy bread or cabbage.

“We mostly cook vegetables with rice or pap; when we have a bit of money, we add chicken or beef stew,” she said.

The Kuseni Dlamini Foundation has pledged to contribute groceries to Swaragano for five months. “The donation will help us a lot, it means we do not have to worry about what to cook tomorrow. From now until December we are sorted, we’ll even have enough to give to the homeless,” she said.

Founded by businessman Kuseni Dlamini, the foundation also promised to work with Swaragano to assist with other things they need. The foundation’s core interest is in supporting community development projects that are aimed at addressing socioeconomic issues.

Dlamini praised Sanny for the good work she’s doing for the community. “Without you, these people would not be benefiting. We are proud to partner with you to ensure that people do not go hungry,” Dlamini said as the foundation delivered its first batch of groceries on August 22.

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