The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
YOUNG Sibusiso Moyo (4), just like his name, is a blessing to his blind grandmother, Gogo Virginia Gutsha of Pelandaba, Bulawayo. He is her eyes on the ground and her guide around the home and community.
Their lodgings, for a visually impaired person, are very clean on the inside and outside, and the two are always dressed in clean clothes that Gogo Gutsha washes alone despite her visual impairment.
Cooking is also another household chore that she has to do daily on her electric stove. She uses her hands to feel if the stove is hot enough to start cooking and she prepares meals that the two enjoy on a daily basis.
This is the day-to-day life of Gogo Gutsha who was blessed with only one child who sadly passed away and a husband who deserted her for South Africa. A Sunday News crew visited her home and found her hanging clothes she had just washed and young Sibusiso was there to lead the way as usual.
“I started staying here in 2018, I used to live with Khulu Bhebhe initially, everything was fine and he left for greener pastures in South Africa, he used to communicate in the beginning but he then went silent until this day. I feel like he abandoned me after being charmed by someone else in South Africa. My sister was blessed with many children unlike me, so one of them is Sibusiso’s father who stays somewhere on the farms,” she said.
Asked about her visual impairment, she said it started at her previous lodgings and has sought medical help to no avail. Gogo said she has been assisted by her church, neighbours, and family members with food, rent, and toiletries occasionally.
However, she said officials from social services once visited her home a long time ago and said she would receive some form of assistance but they have not given her any feedback on when she will start benefiting.
“Now my biggest challenge is rent. I need to pay for this room that I rent every month and Sibusiso needs to enrol in school and I have no funds for that. If I get mealie-meal too I would be grateful,” she said.
Gogo Grace Sibanda (68), also from Pelandaba takes care of her older sister who is 86 and is in a similar predicament to that of Gogo Gutsha, they need food, clothing, and toiletries. She also suffers from a heart condition, is hypertensive and she needs medication but she can hardly afford the drugs.
Last week Nedbank responded to a call to help Gogo Gutsha and Gogo Sibanda via a community group, S’phelele S’bahle which received training from Inspire Women, Men, and Children, an organisation that does skills training for communities and took their Corporate Social Responsibility initiative to Pelandaba where they assisted the two elderly women in cleaning and providing food staffs.
Ms Babara Mudzimuremwa, Senior Operations Manager at Nedbank in Bulawayo gave thanks to community members whose homes they cleaned.
“I am grateful that you allowed us to come and be in your homes to clean for you. We are a bank that is passionate about CSR initiatives and as money experts who do good, we also want to do good in the community and that is why we came here. We are confident that wherever S’phelele S’bahle is and whoever comes in contact with it, there is going to be a positive impact,” she said.
The group of 15 young people was trained and mentored in financial literacy, branding, marketing, detergent making, and being purpose-driven individuals by Nedbank.
“We partnered with Inspire so that we identify 15 youths in the community who were training in detergent making and after that, we suggested that they identify a cause that they can work on in their community and they identified Gogo Gutsha who cannot see. Their idea was to use the detergents they would have manufactured to clean for someone in need and this is what led us here. We are here to help the young ladies and hope the skills learnt will be put to good use,” she said.
Ms Mudzimuremwa said the cleaning exercise will also bring about the spirit of Ubuntu in the community.
“It is sad that we have community members living in such circumstances and we should remember to care for our grandparents and the elderly in general,” she added.
The youths are now able to make their own detergents, brand, market, and sell them alone following the training courtesy of Nedbank. The bank also donated an assortment of foodstuffs to the two elderly beneficiaries and also repaired over 20 broken windows at Gogo Sibanda’s home. -@NyembeziMu
