Bringing hope to Gqebera
MAMTSHAWE. That is the name the Walmer community has given Glenda Brunette. The sight of this woman in her minibus draws excitement and attention from those she helps and with whom she works.
She is known by those who directly work with her, and by those who admire her dedication and commitment to changing the lives of young people, and assisting orphans and the destitute.
Adults and little ones adore her, and greet her affectionately by her adopted clan name of Mamtshawe, as she moves in and out of almost 40 little creches and three soup kitchens across the sprawling and poverty-stricken township of Walmer (Gqebera).
Mamtshawe picked me up at exactly 8.30am from my house.
The minibus was full of all sorts of different things, from a superpack of six glue tubes on the dashboard to four 2kg packs of rice on the back seat floor.
The boot was laden with 20kg bags of samp, mealie meal and sugar, and sanitary towels and a variety of toys for boys or girls in various creches.
She knew exactly where every item was going and who the recipient would be.
The four packs of rice are going to a certain makhulu – she told me the name, address and person she lived with.
Walmer Township is a place beset by horrific poverty.
Many people are ravaged by malnutrition, and live in very small and cramped houses that have very little inside them.
But there is one woman who cares deeply – deeply enough to do something.
Mamtshawe hails from the Sundays River citrus valley, from Addo.
She grew up on a farm, with her five siblings.
She married at age 19, and in that marriage had three sons, Brendan, Lee and Robin.
Her command of the Xhosa language was not learnt at school, but by playing with other children who were around her, who happened to speak the language.
This ability to speak Xhosa has made it very easy for her to work among the people who predominantly speak the language.
She told me, “Language is my passion”.
I accompanied Brunette on her daily rounds, as she delivered sandwiches to the creches.
If the creches or daycare centres need assistance with something, she’ll make it happen.
She saw that creches, which had no water, had a dire toilet situation.
So she put the word out, and individuals, businesses and overseas connections saw it to that 20 Amalooloos were brought down on a huge truck to Port Elizabeth from Durban.
Thanks to local helpers, the loos were installed and the children taught how to use them. Lessons in life.
Mamtshawe has sourced and delivered all manners of necessities from jungle gyms, fencing, tables, chairs and little mattresses for the kids, to clothing and furniture for fire victims, and food parcels for child-headed households and gas for the soup kitchens (which hand out the only meal in a day for many).
Under Mamtshawe’s non-profit organisation, the Walmer Angels Project, she has a literacy centre called the Shine Literacy Chapter (an organisational franchise with a Cape Town-based head office).
They operate from two yellow containers in the grounds of the primary school in Walmer Township.
The centre is run efficiently and effectively, teaching Grade 3 pupils who are at risk of reading failure, to read and write English fluently.
The centre manager, Marcelle Brock, trains and manages 37 volunteers, nearly all white women from the Walmer area.
When Mamtshawe stopped at the Shine Centre, the volunteers were assessing all the Grade 3 pupils for levels of English proficiency, or not.
Mamtshawe finds donors to buy school uniforms for children with shabby outfits.
They have clothed more than 300 children this way and transformed them into proud pupils, walking tall.
We drove to a home that is headed by children.
Mamtshawe had shoes and uniforms which would be handed to the children at this home, where there is not a single person who is working or even able to access the social grant, because none of the children has the necessary documents such as birth certificates or identity documents.
She is working out a plan to sort that out, but in the meantime, she is keeping a close eye on the family’s welfare.
My attention was drawn to the activities of Mamtshawe when my wife, Karen, volunteered to assist the Shine Literacy Centre.
Through speaking about her daily routine, the name of this Mamtshawe would pop up.
Over time I started to be interested in listening to the progress that was being made by this group of people.
Ultimately I called for a meeting to see and hear about what is so exciting about this work and the people involved.
It amazes me that so much is done by these women, none of whom receives any financial compensation at all.
During the Walmer Township tour with the energetic Brunette, there were times that I felt the fate of our people was doomed, as we drove in areas such as Marikana, Airport Valley and Area Q – places that look like they are forsaken and forgotten.
However, Mamtshawe and people like Lungi Mbambo, another amazing community worker, are so devoted, and the smiles and appreciation of those young ones gave me faith in the ability to change their lives, even by the little action of dedicated and committed individuals.
After the tour with Mamtshawe, the only hope I saw for the residents of Walmer Township was the dedication, passion and commitment of the teachers at the creches we visited, as well as the enthusiasm displayed by those toddlers, most of whom are five years or under.
Then I really believed in the words of the song, “shine in the corner where you are”.