Ehlanzeni regional ANC chairperson celebrates Mandela Month by giving

The Ehlanzeni ANC chairperson, Jackie Macie, donated a 5 250L water tank, vegetable seedlings, buckets of wall paint and other gardening materials to Zamani Disability Centre in KaHoyi Village on July 21.

The donation was part of Macie’s Mandela Day drive which is set to take place for the rest of the month. He planted the vegetable seedlings with local ANC volunteers and proceeded to have lunch with the people at the centre.

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“Mandela was a very selfless leader who showed us how to lead compassionately. It is for that reason that my office has decided we will not only commemorate the day just once, but strive to make each day a Mandela Day. After sharing a meal and having extensive discussions with the people who run the shelter, I noticed that there is a need for even more things that could help make their lives easier, such as a gas stove. I then made a commitment that I will return with the stove in a week so they would be able to cook easily for the 160 beneficiaries of the centre,” said Macie.

Elias Mkhonto, the chairperson of Zamani Disability Centre, said they are honoured to have been the recipients of the donations. “We have been in this centre since 1994 and to this day we are in need of any kind of help that can be brought to us. We are currently building a structure that will house people living with disabilities as they currently just come during weekdays and return home in the evenings. Some people here do not have decent living conditions which is why we have decided to build this house.

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“We have people who are talented and skilled, we sew clothes, weld burglar bars and plant vegetables. We are not disabled, but people living with disabilities. Today’s visit from the regional chairperson made us feel like we are seen and recognised as society members. He shared a meal with us and we told him our needs with the belief that he will help us get where we want to be.”

Macie said they have also donated photocopying machines to schools in Nkomazi to honour a commitment they had made in January during their back-to-school donations. “We believe that a conducive learning and teaching environment makes it easier for the learners to succeed, hence we have taken Madiba’s month to fulfil the promises we had made to the schools earlier in the year. We have donated high-calibre photocopying machines to four schools in Nkomazi including Ntiyi Secondary School in KaHoyi and Tinhlonhla Secondary School in Jeppes Reef. We will also be donating an electric wheelchair in KaNyamazane this month as part of our programme and our effort to make the lives of South Africans better.”