The City of Mbombela’s MMC for sports, arts and culture, Cllr Khanyisa Mhlanga, celebrated her 34th birthday on October 31 by donating 34 pairs of school shoes and sanitary packages to pupils at Tenteleni Primary School in KaNyamazane.
Mhlanga, who believes it is important to give back to the community on her birthday rather than to receive gifts, said it brought a her much joy to lend a helping hand to the school where she went for her primary education.
“I still have vivid memories of my days as a pupil at Tenteleni Primary. When I was about eight years old, I used to walk for quite a distance from my grandmother’s house to school.”
“As a community activist, I have over the years volunteered and worked with several leaders to give back to the less fortunate. Today, I am a public representative and still believe that it is important to understand and intervene where possible to address some of the challenges that our communities are facing, especially young people,” said Mhlanga.
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Her birthday celebrations were preceded by a soccer tournament at the KaMagugu Stadium on Sunday October 30.
Mhlanga is of the view that sports can assist to build better communities and address some of the challenges that young people are facing such as substance abuse, mental health issues, temptations to do crime and poor health conditions.
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“Sports can be used as a cornerstone of social cohesion. It is through sports that we can teach a boy child that gender-based violence is wrong, and we can groom better young men for a better society. While unemployment remains a challenge countrywide, we need to start small, and support young people interested in business through structured mentorship programmes to improve their chances of success,” she said.
