By Jonk wa Mashamba
news@alexreporter.co.za
The ActionSA ward 23 under councillor Sarah Wissler raised the bar for charity with the donation of food parcels to Alexandra needy residents.
Recently, they distributed more than 100 food parcels of 25 litre buckets to destitute families. The beneficiaries were selected from all the wards in Alexandra.
Wissler told Alex Reporter that ward 23 was the most generous ward in the whole of Joberg city. She asserted that whenever there was a need to assist communities, they lended a hand.
Wissler said she informed Herman Mashaba, the president of ActionSA, that she had food parcels and that she would like them distributed.
“Tata Mashaba advised me to contact councilor Mkhonto,” she said. She said Shadrack Mkhonto identified out of the 8 wards, needy people who were desperately in need of food.
” This is the reason why we are here, to try and relieve the little bit of stress that those families are going under and give them just a little bit of something, to kind of help them through.
“I have to reiterate that these beneficiaries are not ActionSA members and it wasn’t about politics today.
“We were just making sure that we feed people who were hungry. We do a lot of these things all the time.
“Last year we helped the flood victims in Soweto and Eldorado Park. We took much needed supply that the people didn’t have. We have a warehouse in ward 23 where we keep clothing, blankets and everything for an emergency,” she said.
Dumisani Hlatshwayo, ward 23 chairperson, said it was good to uplift “our people as you know that we are going a lot of stress”.
“A little bit that we can do is viable to us,” he said. Hlatshwayo said last year that they managed to provide furniture and food to families affected when their homes burned down in Soweto.
According to Hlatshwayo, change was necessary as people are going to the general election next year.
“For the people of South Africa, change is needed and drastically. We cannot go on with current leadership whereby they have lost a sense of accountability and sense of caring,” he said.
ActionSA PR councillor, Mkhonto, also known as Alex Mayor or the Mascot of Alexandra, said on Monday morning he received a call from Mashaba.
“He asked me to identify members of community in Alexandra who are living beyond poverty lines,” he said.
Mkhonto, affectionately called the Black Mamba, said he contacted Wissler for confirmation and arrangements.
“I called each and every branch chairperson of ActionSA in Alexandra and asked each one of them to identify members of community in their wards who are living below the poverty line.
” I also indicated to them that we don’t need ActionSA activists but we need ordinary members of the community.”
Mkhonto expressed gratitude to the hard work of members of ActionSA and Wissler for bringing the food over.
