The community have come to the aid of a Gugulethu family who fell on hard times and had to turn customers away from their spaza shop because they couldn’t afford to buy stock.
But the incredible generosity shown by United Khayelitsha Informal Traders Association (UKITA) helped them get back on their feet.
Ukita visited Makwenkwe Mzilikazi and his wife Nobabini in Gugulethu to do their 67 minutes of service in honour of Mandela Day, marked on the birthday – July 18 – of world icon Nelson Mandela.
The frail-looking Mr Mzilikazi, 74, said he was grateful to Ukita who had bought stock for his shop, which he has been running since 2008.
“I was struggling financially that is why I wasn’t able to buy stock for my shop. This is a good start again. I was not expecting this. This is a good gesture from my friends,” said Mr Mzilikazi.
Head of Ukita,Thozama Gwente, said they had noticed that Mr Mzilikazi was no longer attending meetings and so they decided to check up on him.
“It was then that we decided to do something for him. We felt at this Mandela Day we ought to buy him few items to he can continue as usual.
“We brought drinks, sugar, paraffin, chips and many other items for him,” she said.
“He is our member so we needed to lift him up.” Ms Gwente said she was excited that she and her colleagues had been able to help the family.
“This is what we should strive for. If we want to be better people we have to support each other. My only hope is that, this is not the last. We need to assist more emerging business people in our areas,” she said.
Ms Gwente added that Mandela Day offered a perfect opportunity to help others with the little that one had.
