admin
Langalakhe Mabena
Being homeless has negative effects on every aspect of one’s life – safety, social support to the overall health of a being are compromised.
Many do not choose to be homeless, they are forced by factors and pressures that lead one to be homeless – it can be mental illness, family disconnections and disputes and even unemployment.
Despite what homeless people go through, there is a need to support them, be it providing them with shelter, warm clothes and even providing them with food, as that goes a long way in assisting those in need.
In Bulawayo, along Ninth Avenue and between George Silundika and Robert Mugabe Way, there is a mini-path that is “home” for the homeless as children living in the streets and even older people have adopted the place as their shelter.
Community members often bless the kids with warm clothes, and blankets and some bless them with clean and healthy food.
Amongst those who have dedicated their time and resources to feed the homeless, particularly in that area is Nozizwe Mother of Nations Trust, a philanthropic organisation headed by Iris Zemza Nozizwe Mhlanga.
The trust has dedicated itself to helping the needy by gathering and cooking clean healthy food to feed the homeless and the initiative has garnered support from other well-wishers who inject money, food parcels and even clothes to drive the initiative.
Mhlanga prides herself on giving back to the community as she said it is therapeutic. She said she was inspired by her late father Jonathan Themba Mhlanga who is a former Highlanders Football Club president and benefactor, to venture into philanthropic work.
“My father was president of the Highlanders. He was also a city father who owned businesses in Bulawayo. He helped orphans and everyone he could.
When he passed away in 2016, my siblings and I inherited the family business and, two years later, after a strange encounter in church, I was told that I would meet a homeless man and that I would help him.
That came to pass and that was the beginning of me doing what I do now. In 2018, we established the Nomasizwe Mother of Nations Trust, which is still existing and helping those in need,” said Mhlanga.
She acknowledged that she is not feeding the homeless alone. She gets assistance from friends and well-wishers.
For the forty plates she dished out last week, she gave credit to Catharine Charisa for turning the food supplies into nutritional meals. She also gave credit to Lucinda Hughes for donating doughnuts.
Nozizwe has helped a lot of children and even the elderly and this is all because of the love she has for humans.
She said the situation of her son was amongst the vital experiences that push her the most to appreciate life and help those in need.
“My son Christian was born with bilateral talipes (double clubfoot). He had his first surgery when he was five months old when non-surgical intervention failed. I never had time to think or grieve and I just accepted my child as he was.
He grew up behaving like any other child, even though he did not walk in the normal way. He was a happy child; quiet in public but full of mischief around family. Much support came from my in-laws, maternal grandparents, aunts and siblings.
“My son’s condition deteriorated as he grew older and I had to find help for him. I went back to social media and shared my story. Help came from strangers in Kenya who referred me to an orthopedic hospital in Zambia.
We set off not knowing what to expect and my experience there afforded me my first close interaction with single mothers, orphans and disabled children.
I finally learnt that my son’s condition wasn’t my fault. I learnt that he was not the only child with health-related issues.
“I saw children with far worse disabilities than my son and that touched me. We blended in and adapted in a foreign country for the duration of his treatment which, by God’s grace, was free till the age of 18. I learnt a lot about patience, love, giving back to the community and the kindness of strangers,” she said.
Mhlanga has been hailed as a selfless philanthropist with people at heart. A number of accolades she has received since she started Nozizwe Mother of Nations Trust, are testimony of her works being appreciated locally and worldwide.
Early this month (May), the trust received yet another global award — the Most Impactful Organisation for Underprivileged Communities International Awards hosted by Acquisition International United Kingdom.
It became the eighth award the organisation has received in two months. She said she was happy that her organisation was succeeding through thick and thin. This year, Mhlanga has won the Women Icon 2024; Women Changing the World finalist in two categories; Global Woman Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs; Global Icon 2024; Great Companies Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2024; Most Dedicated Humanitarian Aid Businesswoman 2024 (Zimbabwe) and Most Impactful Organisation for Underprivileged Communities 2024 — Zimbabwe.
“This means a lot not only to me but the team behind the scenes. I am just the face of it, all the awards are due to a community effort, it’s not just about me,” said Mhlanga, who is also nominated for the Women Changing the World Award scheduled for June.
Online Reporter