Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
WHAT started as a social media rant has spurred a Bulawayo woman’s charity work that is now touching hundreds of vulnerable lives across the country.
Ms Iris Mhlanga (43) from Bradfield suburb recounts how she started by caring for a disabled man she saw in her neighbourhood scavenging for food at the local shops in 2018.
Touched by the man’s plight, she drew closer to him, providing him with food, clothing and even sourcing a wheelchair for him.
She said the disabled man’s plight got her angry as members of the public were not assisting the vulnerable within their communities.
Ms Mhlanga said she took to Facebook to vent her disappointment on the neglect of vulnerable members of the community.
“When I started looking after that man, I posted it on Facebook saying bantu bakoBulawayo how heartless can you get? You are seeing someone picking food from the bins. So I was basically ranting on social media. How do people just walk past someone who they see scavenging for food from the bins? I was asking if it was too much to just lend a hand,” said Ms Mhlanga, who has since established a Trust, to look after the vulnerable in society.
“So, people responded to that Facebook post and others spoke about that man. Some of them said they knew the man and were now embarrassed that they had seen him and not assisted him. Some of them started saying as a people we need to introspect and we need not just to look after ourselves but after each other. From there people started helping me with food and other stuff to assist him.”
She said the disabled man she assisted also reached out to other disabled people who came in their numbers narrating the challenges they were facing.
Ms Mhlanga said this prompted her to set up Nozizwe Mother of Nations Trust, and is reaching out to the disabled, widows and orphans among other vulnerable community members.
Ms Mhlanga said the reputation of her organisation has seen even corporates coming on board.
“So, one became two and two became three which became five and now I think it’s over a thousand countrywide.
This is from 2018 up to now. So, we registered as a Trust in 2019, that is when corporates caught on and they started assisting. Some of them would provide transport. So, we had companies like Swift Transport coming on board, United Refineries Limited, ProBrands and most recently, Lobel’s,” she said.
“As the numbers grew in different communities where we assisted people, more companies and individuals have come on board so it’s really a collective effort to make our community better, looking after fellow men. Abanye bathi we rise by lifting each other up. So that is what we have been doing in different communities across the country.”
She commended the power of social media saying if properly used, it can transform lives.
Ms Mhlanga said as she embarks on her charity work, she has observed that not all people can openly speak about their day-to-day challenges and such people need others like her to be their voice.
“Some people who struggle, can’t speak out even when they don’t have food. That is one of the things that I have noticed about the community and someone has to speak out on their behalf. Some people have not come to me to ask for help but other people have come out to speak for them. I visit some of these vulnerable people and speak to them.
I become their voice and mobilise resources to assist them,” said Ms Mhlanga.
She said while her charity work has been triggered by social media presence, assisting the less privileged has always been part of the work of her family.
She said a woman she is named after used to have a church where she assisted widows, orphans and other vulnerable community members.
Yesterday, Ms Mhlanga donated groceries to widows in Northend suburb to alleviate their challenges, in commemoration of women’s month.
She said the donation stemmed from the fact that most widows were struggling to provide food for their families and the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened their situation.
Journalist Njabulo Ncube commended Ms Mhlanga for her charity work saying she has used a unique approach in reaching out to the vulnerable.
He challenged corporates, Government and developmental partners to partner her in transforming the lives of vulnerable members of the public. — @nqotshili.
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