Standing the test of time
From donations in money and kind to successful social cohesion projects, we have brought you all heart wrenching, inspiring, fun and quirky human interest stories. They include . . .
RAJEN Mahabeer, a teacher at Jai Hind Primary School, plays the role of a good Samaritan every day as he prepares vegetarian meals for up to 800 school pupils.
The 56-year-old said he decided to provide meals to underprivileged children after he saw them queue for food at government feeding schemes.
Now Mahabeer spends R16 000 (from local donations) a month, for ingredients. He also makes and distributes hampers to people, who cannot make ends meet.
COMMUNITY TO THE RESCUE
WHEN Phoenix matriculant Rishern Naick attained seven distinctions, his dreams of becoming a doctor seemed close to reality but a lack of funds stood in his way.
After an awards ceremony, the 18-yearold pleaded for help and managed to raise R40 000.
An anonymous donor also funded Naick’s seven-year tuition and accommodation fees. In return, Naick promised to give back to his community and is studying medicine at the University of Cape Town.
VOX HANDS YOUTH CENTRE R100 000
SHOW promoters Events4you, m2g Promotions, Zedkay Promotions and popular YouTube star, Vidya Vox, donated R100 000 to the Phoenix Youth Centre.
The centre’s director, Sham Maharaj, told POST the money would be used for projects and the centre’s upkeep. He said they ran various sporting, cultural and training programmes for women.
GOODBYE VICTORY LOUNGE
WHEN owners Billy and Kanagee Moodley announced the famous Victory Lounge on Dr Yusuf Dadoo (Grey) Street in the Durban CBD was closing as the area had deteriorated, customers were disappointed. The couple, in their 60s, said they hoped to relocate the business, which had been passed down from generations for the past 70 years.
Sadly, Kanagee died in November. The only other Victory Lounge is run by Billy’s brother, Vicky, at the Chatsworth Centre. CHATSWORTH office administrator Pariksha Maharaj knelt in the sand at uShaka Beach and asked her boyfriend of two years, Shane Dhuram, to marry her.
Maharaj was among dozens, who entered the POST Valentine’s Day competition and won the opportunity to propose to her beau at a romantic setting.
After careful planning, 28-year-old Maharaj lured Dhuram to uShaka Marine World, telling him it was a pre-birthday celebration.
Maharaj then led him towards the beach where she popped the question in style. The couple are planning a traditional Hindu wedding in the new year.
PARROT LOVED HOT WINGS
THE Govender family of Clayfield, Phoenix, held a funeral for their pet African grey parrot, Timothy Galen Govender, or Timmy as he was fondly known.
His “mom”, Mala, said Timmy was more than just a pet to her family and that they loved him. His favourite meal, she said, was KFC hot wings and chillies.
He used to call her “mom” or “mommy” and at times, when she purposely ignored him, he would scream “Mala” to get her attention.
After burying Timmy in her front garden, Mala then followed Hindu rituals to commemorate his death. The family placed a funeral notice in POST and held a seventh day memorial service for him.
LOCAL FILM A HIT THE local movie Keeping Up with The Kandasamys raked in R1.6 million at the box office with an attendance of nearly 30 000 people on its opening weekend.
The comedy was based on a long-standing rivalry between two families, the Kandasamys and the Naidoos. The movie, which went on to make R16m, was directed by filmmaker Jayan Moodley . MADIBA’S STORY IN TAMIL
WHILE the life story of former president Nelson Mandela has been translated in numerous languages, radio personality Mala Lutchmanan decided to adapt it in Tamil.
Lutchmanan launched her version of the peace icon’s biography, titled 10 000 Days – A Prisoner Then President, in Chennai, India, during the second International Tamil Writers Conference.
She said Madiba was a priceless gift to mankind, that every individual should be familiar with.
CHATS STUDENT OFF TO OXFORD
CHATSWORTH resident, Kumeren Nadaraj Govender made his family and community proud in November when it was announced he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship 2018, to study at Oxford University.
The 24-year-old, who plans to pursue a Phd in artificial intelligence at the university, was the only candidate chosen from the province to study abroad.
He said artificial intelligence was an interdisciplinary field from what he was studying.
“I am currently in the medicine field and going to join the computer science field. I want to use these two and push to boundaries of knowledge. I want to combine the fields, use big data from healthcare systems or genomic data to solve complex healthcare threats, including patterns of diseases such as the emergency of drug-resistance TB or antibiotic resistance,” Govender said.
He was recently placed in the top five of the International Science Competition in Abuja, Nigeria, as well as awarded as one of the top 200 young South Africans 2017 by the Mail & Guardian.
WADDLING FOR ENDANGERED PENGUINS
A DURBAN woman walked 130km from Gansbaai, in the Western Cape, through to Boulders Beach in Simon’s Town to raise environmental awareness for the endangered African penguin.
The journey took Ramini Naidoo and 15 others, six days to complete.
Naidoo, a member of the South African Association for Marine Biological Research, said she always wanted to participate in the annual Penguin Waddle.
The walk, she said, helped educate the public on the importance of not littering and saying no to plastic.