Poor folk get needed helping hand

MORE than 300 poverty-stricken villagers in Saselani, Bushbuckridge, were handed blankets, food parcels and school uniforms by good Samaritans.

At an event hosted by the Ntlemo Fountain Charity Project yesterday, local businessmen and women contributed 100 food parcels to poor families, 150 blankets to the elderly and 100 school uniforms to Saselani Primary School pupils who are either orphans or are from poor families.

Ntlemo Fountain Charity Project director Sam Nxumalo said: “We’re from Bushbuckridge, we saw it fit to come back and plough back to the community that raised us.

“Bushbuckridge is one of the poorest municipalities with no industrial [activity] and unemployment is very high among the youth.

“The benefiting families and individuals are the ones who need the most.

“We’ve done our background check and we hope to do more of this in the future.”

Standard Bank employees in Nelspruit and Bushbuckridge took from their own pockets to help.

“We’re also planning a top-32 soccer tournament targeting teams that give the youth time to play. Crime is very high, so playing soccer will keep them away from crime,” Nxumalo said.

Ward councillor Leonard Malumane said Bushbuckridge was among the poorest areas in Mpumalanga with 64% of the youth unemployed.

“The population of Bushbuckridge is more than half a million, 74% of the people are unemployed. Of that, 64% of the unemployed are the youth, while 52% of people in this area live below the poverty line [with] some going to bed without eating,” Malumane said.

Phethulo Mashego, a Grade 6 pupil at Saselani Primary School, said: “Both my parents are not working. We get money to buy food from the old age grant. I had an old and torn uniform, [but] now I will not be shy to go to school.”