The Sunday News
AT the end of March last, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide lockdown to try and contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Many countries across the world used the lockdown tool successfully to combat the spread of the disease.
A stringent but necessary move in the face of a pandemic that has since ravaged greater part of the entire globe, the lockdown sent millions of people into economic inactivity, throwing their future into a period of deep uncertainty.
Alarm bells rang for especially the less-privileged members of society, including migrants in South Africa, who included hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans. Government did reach out to some poor communities with a number of initiatives meant to curtail the economic and social impact of the various levels of the lockdown, but there were certain areas where its hand could not reach. That is where the gulf was between those who government remembered and those it did not; those it could assist and those it could not.
This limitation meant that non-governmental organisations and individual humanitarian workers had to intervene, or the catastrophe would have been worse. Enter Nobuhle Ajiti, a humanitarian activist who reached out to especially the homeless and poor communities in the sprawling Johannesburg suburbs of Hillbrow, Yeoville and Berea.
A humanitarian worker and gender activist Ajiti already runs a Soup Kitchen for the destitute every Sunday and Wednesday in Berea and when the lockdown and its effects hit, she upped her tempo. Ajiti was born and bred at Bulawayo’s Sizinda high density suburb, and coincidentally, the areas in which she did most of her work house people who come from outside South Africa, including Zimbabwe.
The country’s busiest city, Johannesburg, experiences one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian crises. Global averages estimates are that the homeless community in the city consists of between 8 000 and 20 000 people in a population of over four million. No research has been undertaken in the city – the busiest in Gauteng, to establish accurate figures. The lockdown inspired her to mobilise food parcels to help the vulnerable groups. These groups include foreign nationals, less fortunate families and people who lost their jobs and could not manage to feed their families.
“I have always been very passionate about helping people who are in need,” said the 35-year-old Ajiti, who has been involved in humanitarian work for a couple of years now.
Ajiti, through her soup kitchens, feeds around 500 homeless people at least two days a week, across the sprawling densely-populated suburbs. The homeless people are fed every Wednesdays and Sundays with the help of volunteers that Ajiti draws from the social media site Facebook. “It has been a very tiring and challenging journey, but I cannot give up on looking after vulnerable groups in our society.
We are people we do not get everything that we want, but I am glad that all my efforts are helping others. For nearly a year now, I have managed to make sure that the destitute get food at least twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays. I do not have all the resources, but I go to bed in peace knowing that those who are less fortunate than me have something in their stomachs.
“I do not have money to do all this but I move around seeking help and resources to make sure that this initiative does not die, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. I am appealing to people out there who can, to keep sharing and donating for this project to remain alive. If we are to unite in assisting and taking care of vulnerable people, we will get far together as a people and reduce the levels of crime.
“I make sure that my beneficiaries are served with a plate of rice or sadza, salads, meat, bread, vegetables, fruits and juice. To me it is not only helping out with food, but also trying to uplift their healthcare systems. I am grateful to various volunteers who always take their time to help serve especially the homeless drawn from across African nationalities and races. It has not been an easy journey, but we are moving forward,” she said.
Thabo Zuma a homeless man, expressed appreciation towards Ajiti’s gesture. “It is dry out in the streets nowadays. If it was not for sister Nobuhle, I do not know where I would be now. We believe that our leaders must appreciate people who are doing great wonders for their citizens,” he said.
At the height of the lockdown, Ajiti mobilised 20 000 food parcels from well-wishers, which she donated to various families who were starving following job losses and lack of access to food. “Realising that people are losing their jobs, I mobilised food parcels. I managed to get above 20 000 food parcels which I distributed to families whose bread winners lost jobs.
I am glad that I managed to make sure that families go to bed with something in their stomachs,” she said.Recently, Ajiti started an initiative where she is feeding people who are recovering from Covid-19. “It is challenging to visit those with Covid-19. I have to make sure that I don’t contract the virus. So I have to make sure I always have my protective gear before visiting and feeding them. Most people are abandoned in these buildings. They will be dying and suffering in silence so I saw it necessary that I also start putting them in my feeding schemes. I like what I am doing, at least when sick and having something in your stomach chances are high you can survive. So my aim is to also save lives,” added Ajiti.
Ajiti is also assisting victims of Gender-Based Violence. “I am glad that I have managed to assist more than 60 people so far who were trapped in abusive relationships across Johannesburg. As a victim of GBV I believe it is my duty to make sure that no one experiences what I went through in life.”- /briefly.co.za/Sunday News Reporter
