A total of 10 matrics from Meriting informal settlement in Kaalfontein are now sleeping on a comfy new mattress.
The brainchild of Democratic Alliance proportional representation councillor Julie Suddaby, the initiative identified a need in the community and put together a team that would see the idea come to reality.
Ward 112 councillor Madeleine Hicklin said she heard about the initiative from Suddaby and said, “We believed in starting small with only 10 youngsters as they learn to utilise the resources before them.”
The beneficiaries of the initiative, who received their new mattresses on 8 November, were as follows:
- Siphamandla Arosi
- Lindokuhle Ntwanambi
- Lethabo Molamu
- Ncebakazi Sithoko
- Nkululeko Mashabane
- Pule Monyebodi
- Nhlalala Nkuna
- Yandisa Zulu
- Vuyolwethu Ngqunya.
A team of volunteers from the community assembled the beds using pallets which were donated by local printing company Remata and all the tools were donated by individuals who believed in the initiative.
The mattresses were donated by Vitafoam.
Suddaby said that more and more initiatives like these would take place and disadvantaged people would find more and more relief in their everyday lives.
Arosi spoke on the behalf of the beneficiaries and said, “We appreciate the beds and hope this won’t be the end of the initiative as more people are in need.
“I will not allow my current situation to dictate my future as I see the challenges I face now as just minor situations compared to the high life he is working towards.”