Online Reporter
Joshua Muswere, Zimpapers Writer
FIFTY-EIGHT elderly residents at eNtembeni Old People’s Home in Bulawayo’s Luveve suburb have received a boost after the Chartered Governance and Accountancy Institute in Zimbabwe (CGAIZ) donated various food supplies as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
The donation is part of a wider community outreach initiative by the institute, which plans to extend similar assistance to vulnerable communities at Ingutsheni Hospital, Mpilo Central Hospital, orphanages and children’s homes across Bulawayo.
Speaking on the sidelines of the handover ceremony, CGAIZ Councillor, Mrs Lifneth Moyo said the institute was strengthening its focus on vulnerable communities while contributing to the country’s broader development aspirations under Vision 2030.
She said assisting elderly people goes beyond providing material support, as it was also a way of recognising the contribution of previous generations who endured difficult circumstances and helped lay the foundation for succeeding generations.
“As CGAIZ, we are growing in terms of aligning ourselves with caring for the vulnerable and ultimately contributing to Vision 2030,” said Mrs Moyo.
She said elderly people deserved to be remembered and supported as they belonged to a generation that had navigated difficult circumstances to create opportunities for those who came after them.
Mrs Moyo said the outreach programme was, therefore, not simply about donating food, but also about upholding the dignity of vulnerable members of society.
CGAIZ Bulawayo branch manager, Siphathisiwe Dlamini, said the initiative would continue beyond eNtembeni, with the institute having identified several health and social welfare institutions requiring support.
“These programmes have been ongoing and we seek to cover various health institutions in the City of Bulawayo, old age people’s homes, orphanages and children’s homes,” she said.
The outreach also highlighted the long history of eNtembeni Old Age People’s Home, which has its roots in the work of the Ntembeni brothers.
According to the institution’s administrator, Chelesani Tshuma, its history dates back to the 1910s when two brothers started what was initially a small undertaking that later developed into an institution serving vulnerable people in the community.
Tshuma said the organisation’s work evolved over the years through community involvement and social welfare structures, with the institution at one stage catering for immigrants and elderly people before 1980.
It subsequently transitioned into a facility operating entirely under social welfare structures, with its mandate focused on caring for, nourishing and providing accommodation and support to elderly people.
Tshuma said the institution’s continued existence had been sustained by contributions from different stakeholders and the community over the years.
CGAIZ’s intervention comes against this long history of community-based care, providing practical support to an institution that continues to shoulder the responsibility of caring for elderly people.
The institute’s planned outreach to other hospitals, old age homes, orphanages and children’s homes is expected to extend the programmers reach to other vulnerable groups across Bulawayo.
The initiative also demonstrates the role professional institutions and businesses can play in complementing Government and community-based social welfare programmes through targeted support to organisations providing essential services to vulnerable communities.
