Randburg taxi association gives back to their community

The Randburg United Local and Long-Distance Taxi Association gave back to the communities they serve out of their own back pockets and the goodness of their hearts.

More than 40 people, who were mostly women requiring food during the Covid-19 lockdown, received food parcels to take home to their families in Diepsloot, Cosmo City, Zandspruit, Kya Sand and other areas on 21 May.

General secretary of the taxi association, Teresa Tlomotsane, said that inspiration for the donation came from seeing a need for community togetherness. “We operate in so many communities, and we are a central part of these communities. We have seen how much our people have been suffering during this time. This is what inspired us to donate out of our own back pockets to help feed 40 families that we have identified as in need during this time,” said Tlomotsane.

She said that the taxi association decided to bring representatives of families to their headquarters instead of delivering inside the communities, as delivering there could create chaos.

Tlomotsane continued, “There are so many people in need. We all need to play our part and support the measures put in place by our government. This time is bad for everyone, and as a community, the little that we have we need to share.”

Representatives of the South African National Taxi Company were there to share their support on the day. Halfway Toyota Honeydew, who work very closely with Santaco, also played a part in the organisation of the donations.

Halfway Totota’s Vusisiwe Mahlangu said, “We have a long-standing partnership with the Randburg United Local and Long-Distance Taxi Association and the communities they serve. We have decided to take this relationship deeper to actively participate in initiatives that they contribute to in the community.

“We hope that initiatives like this will continue long past the lockdown period.”