Maseo Nethanani
LIMPOPO – AS part of Mandela Day commemorations, the Polokwane mayor, Thembi Nkadimeng visited Kholofelo Drop-in Centre and Molebogeng Pre-school in Seshego on Friday.
During the visit, the mayor got her hands dirty planting trees and painting the classrooms.
“In commemoration of Mandela Day, the Polokwane Municipality has a programme where we assist the less fortunate in the cluster. The drop-in centre caters to orphans and vulnerable children. We started a garden for them and renovated the building with the assistance and contribution from several businesses in the city. We will make sure we find a sponsor for the centre so they are at least able to buy food once a week so that the centre is fully used,” said Nkadimeng.
She told CV that the municipality was unable to give the centre a full stipend and gave them R30 000 in the last financial year so they could buy tables and chairs.
“This year, we will look into giving them office furniture, computers and laptops for their administration. We have amazing plans for the entire month and all of them focus on assisting the needy,” she said.
Moses Maponya of Uniting Reformed Church in South Africa (URCSA) Polokwane city, who accompanied the mayor on her visits, said the church took part in the commemoration to show that Mandela’s spirit would live in the hearts of South Africans.
“The church realised it needed to make a difference in people’s lives. We thank one of our congregation members who identified the centre,” said Maponya.
Sarah Thompson, Kholofelo Drop-in Centre manager, thanked the Polokwane Municipality and URCSA Polokwane city for their contributions.
“We are happy to know that the municipality and church care for us, it really means a lot to us. We promise to look after the renovated building and the plants,” said Thompson.
