Fagmienda's journey to activism
FACING eviction from the home in which she was born, a brave 50-year-old community worker from Woodstock is turning her adversity into an opportunity to help others who are also facing eviction.
Fagmieda Ling said the need to help others had been instilled in her from a young age. In Women’s Month, Ling continues her involvement in issues that affect impoverished communities. Ling is also involved in the organisation Reclaim the City.
A few weeks ago, the owner of the building in which they are staying applied for an eviction order to expel them from their homes in Albert Road, Woodstock.
Ling said: “But we are opposing the matter in court because all of us have nowhere else to go. Imagine growing up in this community, and now suddenly you have to move to a place called Wolwerivier that is in the middle of nowhere. This is why the other residents and I had to get involved.
“For as long as I can remember I have been involved in the community. I guess I get it from my late mother Peggy van Rooy, who also loved her community. If there was something to be done, people would come to her, and she was always ready to help.
“This was a woman who raised eight children on her own. My mom clearly instilled this community spirit in me,” she said.
Ling added that after her divorce 14 years ago, she decided to further her studies and studied early childhood development. Today she is a Grade R teacher at a school in Woodstock.
“This is also how I contribute to educating our future generation. There is just so much that needs to be done in our communities,” she said.