Building a better community
"The support has been good. Every little bit goes a long way."
Seeing a better future and a untied South Africa is a dream that Ms Portia Ralombe believes strongly in.
The Edenvale businesswoman believes that her dream can be achieved if individuals and communities come together and help grow the community.
One way in which Ms Ralombe has been helping out those in need is through a donation drive for the Sthandiwe Disability Care Centre based Bardene.
Ms Ralombe’s passion for helping people was ignited in 2012 when she herself was unemployed.
“I needed to do something, I needed to keep myself busy. So I began collecting and gathering donations for people in the community who needed it,” said Ms Ralomba.
She said she went house to house, asking for donations of food or clothes to give to the community members.
“I really felt miserable at that time but by helping people it made me feel better. It still does,” said Ms Ralombe.
After finding employment in 2013, Ms Ralombe felt she still wanted to make a difference and help those in need.
“I still helped the community but I wanted a bigger task,” said Ms Ralombe.
With the help of a friend who helped point her in the right direction, Ms Ralombe began helping the care centre.
“I did my research about all the organisations in Edenvale and decided that Sthandiwe in Bardene needed more help,” said Ms Ralombe.
The donation drive, which begins in the festive season, sees Ms Ralombe collecting food, clothes and other essentials for the care centre.
She said all the donations were given to the care centre on November 8 at the Christmas party.
All of the donations that are given to the care centre come from the community and Ms Ralombe.
Despite support from the community, Ms Ralombe said there have been less donations of food items this year than last year.
Ms Ralombe believes that the economic constraints that many families face resulted in less donations.
“The support has been good. Every little bit goes a long way,” said Ms Ralombe.
Ms Ralombe said in years to come she is hoping to run the donation drive throughout the year.
She said her biggest challenge has been doing everything herself and finding the time to carry out the community work while working at her job.
“It’s my calling to help people in need. As long as the next person is happy I am happy,” said Ms Ralombe.
She said she hopes that people across the country come to realise that by helping organisations communities can grow.
