A civic organisation, Umhlahlo weSizwe sikaMthwakazi, donated clothes to the San community and other flood victims in the Tsholotsho district of Matabeleland North on Wednesday.
BATANAI MUTASA OWN CORRESPONDENT
The clothing was collected from Bulawayo residents through various churches.
Umhlahlo weSizwe sikaMthwakazi secretary for social services, Mvikeli Mathema, said the aim of the donation was to mitigate the suffering of marginalised and disaster-ridden societies through giving in any way possible.
“It’s good to give people food and clothes, but these things are perishable and you have to continue coming back, which makes it better to teach them skills which they could use to then buy food and clothes while you move on to other people,” Mathema said.
He said his organisation looked at problems in society ranging from educational to social and worked with other organisations, individual churches and companies to intervene.
“In this case, Lodzi Hunters has provided us with transport and accommodation and in the past Edgars Stores gave us 400 blankets which we donated early this year,” he said.
Councillor Elmon Ncube of Ward 8 in Tsholotsho said he had worked with Mathema under the Zimbabwe Unemployed People’s Association and found it easy to address the problems bedevilling the San with him.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“I think we need to go a step further than clothes and food by giving the San, who are hunters by nature, training. They are already expert trackers and with proper training would do well if employed as game rangers, trackers and any other positions in their areas of residence,” Ncube said. “We believe we owe it to them since they have been marginalised and deprived by being forbidden to hunt legally.”
Ncube said although the focus was on the San community, other people in Tsholotsho had been hit hard by floods following heavy rains that pounded the district earlier this year, and therefore the programme was not restricted to one specific community.
The San community chairperson Magazine Nyathi expressed gratitude for the donations, which he said would be of great help.
“We are struggling to the extent that we farm by hand since we cannot afford basic tools like hoes and other inputs,” he said.
“Anything that comes our way is appreciated which is evidenced by the crowd which gathered here for assistance.”
Lodzi Hunters director Paradzai Nemashakwe said they were happy to help and felt obliged to be present on his initial partnership with Umhlalo weSizwe sikaMthwakazi.
“I wish we continue like this and they are actually assisting me too because my organisation has been fighting to deliver people from problems by sourcing water, building infrastructure and many projects we are working on for the community,” Nemashakwe explained.
“There is a lot to be done and since I operate in these people’s areas, I concentrate on assisting them which gives operators in other areas an opportunity to do the same.”
