Many fed on Mandela Day

Meshack Thuli arrived in South Africa from Swaziland in 1996 in the hope of finding employment and improving his circumstances, but 20 years later he is homeless and sleeps on the street.

He survives by finding piece jobs where he can and on bad days he rummages through bins at nearby malls in the hope of finding something to eat.

“I do nothing most days, I just try and stay alive. Living on the streets is really tough, we see many crimes happening around us,” he said.

Thuli was one of the people who was able to get something to eat as the world over celebrated the late Nelson Mandela’s birthday. The Debonairs in Ferndale partnered with the Tshepo Community Development Initiative by giving bread to the homeless. Owner of Debonairs, Duarte Pereira, said that it was a nation-wide initiative but he had been looking for someone to partner with. Debonairs have turned the extra dough off-cuts into mini loaves of bread that were donated to the needy and homeless in Windsor East.

Even though this initiative was sparked by Mandela Day, Pereira said that he pledged to continue to support the Tshepo Community Development Initiative every two weeks with the mini-bread loaves made from the extra dough. “Mandela Day is such an inspiration because to think of where we come from and where we are going will most definitely better our society,” Pereira said. He added that everybody should roll up their sleeves to make South Africa a better place for all.

Patrick Dlamini from the Tshepo Community Development Initiative accepted the bread and gave them to the hungry and homeless in Windsor East. “We encourage the residents to contact us should they want to donate anything, as we run an after-care in Windsor East as well as feed the homeless, destitute and hungry a few times a week,” Dlamini said.

Details: Tshepo Community Development Initiative, 011 507 2621

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