The minister of Social Development Bathabile Dlamini held an inter generational dialogue with Soweto residents on Wednesday.
Held at the Grace Bible Church in Pimville, the dialogue was aimed at tackling social challenges faced by communities.Senior citizens, the youth and people living with disabilities attended the dialogue and got a chance to interact with the minister.
“Today we are here as part of our project called Mikondzo which is dedicated at finding solutions to all problems faced by our communities.
The department project identifies all struggling households in the areas we work with. The project helps us a lot especially in Soweto where we have an influx of people from other countries and provinces,” said Dlamini.
One of the ways residents get help through project Mikondzo is by starting vegetable gardens which are often seen as a long term sustainable solutions to hunger and malnutrition.
Some of the issues discussed by the minister and residents include the problem of drugs which is affecting a lot of young people.
Dlamini promised pensioners that as the department they are busy working on legislation which will prevent funeral schemes and money landers from deducting money from their pay.
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) was at the event helping residents with registration for pension and other social grants. The minister presented senior citizens with food parcels and blankets at the end of the event.
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