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Pensioners' job creation project in danger of colllapsing

Date: 26 September 2003 By: Elijar Mushiana-NIPA

DAVHANA – "The Davhana Society for the Care of the Aged Project," which is a pensioner's poverty alleviation project, may be something of the past, if serious intervention does not take place to finance it.

The project started in 1998 as a burial society, but it was later decided to extend the project as a multipurpose career for the pensioners. The pensioners have submitted their business plan and constitution to different businesses, the municipality and other places to get donations to start their project.

After they had distributed their applications to the different places, the Makhado Municipality donated an amount of R20 000 to build the structure of that project. The Department of Agriculture also contributed to the building of the structure, but unfortunately the amount of R20 000 from the Makhado Municipality was not enough to complete it and the pensioners then used their own money to complete the structure.

The chairperson of the project, Mrs Wilhelmina Nemaungani (71), confirmed that the project has embarked on a several activities to keep them active and healthy. Their aim is to sell chickens to the communities, but as time goes by, they hope to supply to different places and the neighbouring provinces, like Mpumalanga and Gauteng .

"The structure of the shelter which we are using now is not fit for chickens, and this leads us to lose such a lot of chickens while they are growing up. We need to expand the number and quality of our products, and even to upgrade our lives and escape from poverty," said Nemaungani.

The Davhana project has no storeroom where they can put their equipment, and they have no office where they can assist their clients during business transactions. There is no electricity for the chickens.

According to chairperson Nemaungani, the project structure will serve the old people on different occasion, such as a pension pay point, a meeting place for older people in the community, a place to do income- generating projects, such as making clay pots, a venue for literacy classes, a base for home care and the meals-on-wheels project, a safety and recreation centre, a physiotherapy centre, and the promoting and sustaining of cultural activities.

The pensioners who are running the project are said to be between 71 and 110-years old.

Businesses and other institutions which should like to donate to the "Davhana Society Project," can contact the chairperson, or George Ramashia (community server), at 082 967 1853, or visit the pensioner's project at Davhana.

 
 
 

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Elijar Mushiana-NIPA

 
 

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