TTI adopts Entembeni Old People’s home

BULAWAYO’s traffic management company, Tendy Three Investments (TTI) has decided to take their corporate social responsibility (CSR) a notch higher by adopting Entembeni Old People’s home and immediately donating an assortment of critical items to the home worth US$5 000 and cash injection of $5 million.

The surprise adoption announcement of the home, located in Old Luveve suburb, was revealed on Saturday when the company presented the goods to the home’s board chairperson Newman Sibanda.

The donation comprised of 12 x 100 packs of diapers,5 X 25L Ammonia Cream, 5 X 25L thick bleach, 2 X 25L Pine Jelly, 2 X 25L dishwasher as well as 10 X 48’s toilet tissue.

TTI was represented by its executive director and board chairperson Lizwe Mabuza who flew from South Africa to oversee the whole presentation. Bulawayo City Council was represented by the acting head of traffic Ndumiso Ndlovu.

“We will partner with Entembeni Old People’s Home and there are a lot of items we would like to walk the journey with them on,” said Mabuza.

He said his organization takes pride in extending a landing hand to the people, especially where they do business with and such an assistance to Entembeni Old People’s Home is a perfect example for the policy.

“We are not being boastful about this donation, all we are asking for is for people’s prayers so that we continue with these kinds of assistance, particularly to such senior citizens, the less privileged and the disabled. As TTI this is not the first time that we have donated to the needy within the City and working with the Bulawayo City Council’s social welfare department, we have managed to identify and give scholarship to such vulnerable persons,” said Mabuza.

Last year the company donated office equipment to Bulawayo giants Highlanders and in August 1 200 vulnerable families were beneficiaries of various food items. In December, they followed that with another US$12 000 worth of food stuff donation to 500 families in the City.

Entembeni Old People’s home was established in 1967 by a group of men who were heading the Bulawayo City Council. These men formed a trust and bought land from Bulawayo City Council. They had discovered that most people who were destitute were aliens mainly from Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique who had come to Zimbabwe in the 194os to look for work. The Home’s board chairperson Sibanda, speaking at the donation ceremony, said what he previously thought and heard about TTI’s intentions were two completely different scenarios following the unannounced donation. were grateful to the timely gesture from TTI as it came at a time when they were in urgent need of critical items which were donated by TTI.

“I am a motorist in the City and I must confess that I never thought that one day we may be beneficiaries of TTI’s benevolence, I was telling myself that their job was to just demand money from motorists and also to clamp us but after this gesture, I will be one of the people who speak positively about TTI. I would like to urge the people of Bulawayo to welcome such development initiatives instead of rushing to criticize them, it is clear that TTI’s intention is to uplift Bulawayo and assist vulnerable persons and organisations like ours,” said Sibanda.

Sibanda’s call for Bulawayo to embrace TTI came at a time when an organization calling itself Bulawayo Business Development Association (BBDA) had called for a five-day parking fees boycott from June 12 to June 17 which was however a huge flop as motorists ignored the boycott calls.

He said as the place was home to aged citizens who were no longer able to fend for themselves, they were now relying solely on donations from organisations and individuals.

“We are looking after old people here, people who can not do anything for themselves and its us and the staff here who must make sure that they eat, bath, get proper clothing and are in good health. We were just talking with the staff here wondering where we will get detergents, tissues, and diapers and through God’s mercy, TTI has come on board and donated to us all these items and for that, we are so grateful as Entembeni Old People’s home,” said Sibanda.