Loraine Ginns of Trader’s Corner expressed her frustration at the South African culture of donating poor quality clothing to charities.
Ginns gave Randburg Sun a first-hand look at some of the previously loved clothes which can be found in the donation baskets.
“Sometimes we travel great distances to collect donations that was not worth the expense. Driving 30km to collect four items of clothing really crushes the spirit of joy. Or worse, collecting a bag of stuff we have to trash. It really pains us to do that,” said an impassioned Ginns.
In South Africa, a country with one of the highest Gini coefficients in the world, a measure of the disparity between the rich and poor, many rely on the good nature of others for resources to function in society. The disparity between the rich and the poor has increased since the onset of the national lockdown, where many citizens have become financially displaced.
Ginns said for the poor, the only thing that they have been able to keep was their dignity.
“When [tattered] clothing is donated to the poor, they cannot afford to deny it, however, by wearing it the poor are stripped of their dignity… The poor are not ungrateful but if an item has no further use, we cannot pretend it has and force the poor to wear it.”
