New NPO’s first event a success despite minor hiccups
Founder, Nonhlanhla Ntombela, said people came to the event expecting to receive food parcels which they were not offering.
OKAMAHLOBO Foundation successfully hosted its Heritage Day celebrations recently. Hosted at the Montclair Recreational Hall, the event was to promote social cohesion and acknowledge the various cultures of ward 64.
The founder of the NPO, Nonhlanhla Ntombela, said despite a few mishaps, the event went well. She said she and her team realised that there are a lot of impoverished people in the area.
“Unemployment rates in this area are too high and these are the results of the unrest and pandemic. A lot of people lost their jobs and are now unable to put food on the table. People came to our event expecting to receive food parcels. I don’t know where they got this idea from because even though we had advertised it, we did not mention giving out parcels,” she said.
She said that they had only mentioned activities of the day which were mainly to celebrate various cultures of the residents. “Despite this, our event went well. Our thanks go to the municipality, SAPS, SANBS and various other stakeholders who gave us a lot of support which we’re grateful for. It was saddening to realise the amount of desperation most people are facing,” she added.
OkaMahlobo Foundation is a relatively new non-profit organisation in ward 64. It consists of like-minded individuals who banded together to bridge the gap in the needs of the community.
The Montclair-based organisation prides itself in putting the needs of people first and ensuring that they are clothed and fed with dignity. They appeal for donations such as airtime and or data bundles, second-hand clothes and shoes, sanitary towels, and or money.
To make a donation of any kind, call or send an SMS to 073 702 4084 or use 083 861 9147 to Whatsapp only. Alternatively, they can be reached by email at nonhlanhla.okamahlobo@gmail.com. Â
