The Elders Voice begins their legacy project

THE Elders Voice KZN recently sealed the deal on Pennington Beach Resort, after painstakingly raising the R500 000 deposit for a bigger premises.

In February, founder of The Elders Voice KZN, Jo-ann Herbst said, “We have, by the grace of God, been able to secure our first property, a holiday resort, a haven for our elderly. We have secured an instalment sale agreement with the owner of the property, the sale price for this amazing property is R8.4 million, this is a huge risk that someone is taking on us, and we will not disappoint.”

ALSO READ: 17 pro tips to save to the max when buying a home

Over the last four months, she has pleaded with everyone and anyone, had companies donate and challenge others and had community members donate, to help them leave a permanent mark, a legacy for many years to come, a place for Sassa pensioners to turn to when they can no longer live on their own.

“As you all know we pay steep rentals for all our properties we occupy, every year it goes up in price, this, coupled with increased utilities and the cost of living, we need to secure a forever home, one where we can call our own, and even have room for expansion. We have earned our stripes, we have shown we have been around now going into our seventh successful year and we have endured so much, but we have also made such a huge difference to many,” said Herbst.

Elders Voice KZN and Elders Haven have since joined forces to run the newly named ‘Elders Voice Pennington’, allowing them to build a strong unit with the capacity to do more work, while balancing out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

ALSO READ: How to rebuild company culture in a post pandemic world

“We are beyond excited, we look forward to still being a haven for the elderly, and veterans who served our country and now need their little place in the sun,” she said.

The property can house 95 people. It is shared accommodation, with a communal entertainment area, lounge and dining hall. The organisation is currently moving residents from Amanzimtoti and Montclair to the property.

“We are busy closing some of the Amanzimtoti homes and relocating people to Pennington, once we have got everyone settled, we will start with sustainability projects such as vegetable tunnels,” said Herbst.

Their next step in their legacy project is to market their brand, work on ways for their elderly to generate an income for themselves and to make the project as sustainable as possible.

ALSO READ: OPINION: Recycling is hard, but we gotta start somewhere

Now that the property is secured, they will be paying the R7.9 million balance of the property on a monthly basis.

For more information, or to volunteer in the project, call 079 028 6379. Alternatively, donations can be made at the following banking details: The Elder’s Voice KZN, FNB, branch code: 220127, cheque account number: 62937183755, reference: legacy

DID YOU KNOW?

Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics. To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 694 6047

The South Coast Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?

Do you have more information pertaining to this story? Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.

(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)