Chronicle Editor
Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Correspondent
OVER 40 families from Luveve have received donations from residents from the same suburb based in the United Kingdom.
The vulnerable households received grocery hampers that included fresh produce, mealie-meal, cooking oil and pasta, among other things last week.
The diasporan group is made up of about 20 Luveve-born and raised United Kingdom based residents.
Speaking to Chronicle, Zimbabwe coordinator Mr Dingani Mhlanga, a lecturer from the Bulawayo Polytechnic, said the project was a way for the diasporans to give back to the communities that raised them.
Mr Mhlanga said the diasporans are working to make the donations a monthly phenomenon to bring relief to vulnerable communities in their households. “This is an initiative by products of Luveve who are now based in the United Kingdom. As we know that it takes a community to raise a child, these children of this community have felt the need to plough back to the communities that raised them through identifying vulnerable households in those communities and giving them some food parcels. While this is the first batch of the programme, the aim is to have this project run on a rolling basis where we will see some households benefiting from this scheme on a monthly basis,” said Mr Mhlanga.
He said community leaders identified the needy members and presented their details to his team which then delivered food parcels.
“We worked with community leaders who know communities better and understand the needs better, and they are the ones who were responsible for identifying the households in need. Most of the households are families with senior citizens who have no one to look up to for their needs. The other group is of child headed families who also need the assistance of such initiatives,” said Mr Mhlanga.
He said they are looking into adding more families and increasing the number of food parcels and quantities in the parcels.
In accepting the donations on behalf of the community, Ms Loveless Sibanda, a Luveve Residents Committee representative said the programme was much needed as the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need in the community after informal economic activities were affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.
“There is a lot of need in our communities and this initiative by our fellow Luveve community members now based in the United Kingdom is indeed welcome. It shows the spirit of ubuntu and knowing that we are all one family. The donations are much welcome and will go a long way in improving the lives of the vulnerable community members among us. These elderly people are our parents. They counsel us, give important advice many a times in the community when we deal with a number of issues that need the input of elders such as funerals and other such times that need the community to come together,” said Ms Sibanda.
A number of diasporan initiatives are assisting a number of communities in the country, both in urban and rural areas.
Some of the initiatives have even extended helping hands to initiatives aimed at capacitating public hospitals to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Some diasporans have donated hospital equipment and personal protective equipment to hospitals such as Thorngrove infectious Diseases Hospital, Mpilo and Ekusileni Medical Centre. — @andile_tshuma.
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