Latest news with #Maponya
The Citizen
5 days ago
- Health
- The Citizen
Local organisation donates warm clothes to child welfare
A local organisation donated warm clothes and soup for children from Tshwane Child Welfare Mamelodi on Friday. Ditlalemeso Foundation made the donations to keep vulnerable children warm this winter. Gloria Mangena from Tshwane Child Welfare Mamelodi said the donations came at the time of need. She said the foundation had been very supportive of their children protection programme by donating warm clothes and soup. 'The donations will go to children who we came across in need of material assistance and some of these children attend our Orphan and Vulnerable Children [programme],' said Mangena. 'It's winter, and we are working hand in hand with grandmothers, unemployed aunts, and uncles taking care of vulnerable children, and we will donate the clothes to them.' Bennit Maponya from the organisation said this was not the first time they donated to the Child Welfare. 'As an organisation, we thought we should take a stand and do something for children who come from disadvantaged families. 'We chose to start with Child Welfare, because their mandate is to protect children, and they are helping a lot of families in Mamelodi,' said Maponya. He said they collected clothes from the community, friends, and families, and hoped the clothes would keep children warm this cold winter. 'We are also here to build a lasting relationship with the centre, whereby we have a soup kitchen once a week.' Maponya said Child Welfare is one of their beneficiaries because they look after vulnerable children in Mamelodi. 'Donating unwanted clothes is also part of giving back to the community,' he said. He added that the foundation's clothing drive aims to dress the less fortunate in winter and beyond. The organisation also pleaded with the public to help donate school uniforms and clothes for all ages. It also keeps chronic patients warm in winter while waiting for the clinic to open by providing them with warm nutritious vegetable soup and bread to fill up their stomachs while standing in long lines and before taking their medication. 'We don't want to see elderly people and chronic patients waking up as early as 03:00 with freezing hands and cold feet in winter season,' said Maponya. 'Our mission is to see Mamelodi have a good, healthy community.' Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
The Citizen
05-06-2025
- General
- The Citizen
Local organisation's soup kitchen keeps queuing patients warm
Standing in long queues in the cold and dark winter season is a thing of the past for chronic patients waiting for health services at local clinics. Bennit Maponya from the Ditlalemeso Organisation said they continue to keep the patients warm in winter while waiting for the clinic to open by providing them with warm, nutritious vegetable soup and bread to fill up their stomachs. 'We don't want to see elderly people and chronic patients waking up as early as 03:00 with freezing hands and cold feet in winter,' said Maponya. He said the organisation aims to keep patients warm in winter by providing them with soup and bread from as early as 06:00. 'Our mission is to see Mamelodi have a good, healthy community. 'We are calling all residents of Mamelodi to look after their health and know their status,' he said. The main aim is to keep patients warm and make them drink their medication on time as the doctor has prescribed. The organisation encourages the public to take care of their health, and the first step is to go for a health screening. 'The soup kitchen was started because we could not bear to see people freeze in the cold with empty stomachs, especially elderly people with aching bodies. 'People wake up early to be first in line to get primary healthcare, but at the same time, there are some residents who are on chronic medication and must take their medication in the morning,' Maponya said. 'Members of the organisation buy the products with their own money, and local funders and private donors help too.' He said their community socio-economic development organisation was formed by three people looking to uplift the community of Mamelodi with skills development for unemployed people. The organisation was formed over four months to assist Mamelodians, young and old, with social issues, starting with clothes, soup kitchens, and helping children with their school work. They also aim to keep children busy and away from the streets by introducing them to different activities, including sports. 'Mamelodi has five clinics, and our goal is to have all these clinics have a soup kitchen for the whole of winter.' He also said that after winter, they will continue visiting the clinics to give sandwiches to people taking medication in the morning to avoid them going home to eat and coming back to the clinic. Organisation members also wake up early in the morning to start preparing the 60 litres of vegetable soup aimed at keeping people warm in the cold winter. 'We are appealing to the community to share their warmth by assisting with any form of donation to keep people seeking healthcare warm at all Mamelodi clinics,' said Maponya. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
