Entrepreneur Bongani Mabuza has made it his mission to assist the elderly and families hard hit by the National Lockdown in his community of Mngadi in Katlehong.
Through his initiative, the #SpazaShopChallenge, Mabuza has already managed to give out over 150 food hampers to families in Katlehong and have recently added protective masks to the hampers with a focus on the elderly. “The majority of my customers in the Spaza shop are elderly bread winners who mostly earn a grant and run informal business to supplement their income. The Lockdown has impacted most of them and this gave birth to the idea of assisting them during this time. My community lacks access to adequate knowledge about Covid19 and with the shut down of internet cafes small businesses including Spaza shops are not able to apply for the various relief funds currently available. Added to the pressure, law enforcement harassment of Spaza shop owners and their customer,” says Mabuza on what motivated him to start the #SpazaShopChallenge. The mission of the initiative is to assist as many families as possible with food hampers with pledges from individuals and organisations that want to make a difference in the lives of not only the families in need but the black owned Spaza shops that will distribute the hampers. It is an initiative that can be started by Spaza shops across the country which Mabuza believes will assist in reaching more people struggling during the National Lockdown. Even though Mabuza and many other entrepreneurs nationwide are facing cash flow challenges which will eventually affect their ability to operate effectively and sustainably, Mabuza would still like to continue with the challenge beyond the Lockdown. “We would like to continue assisting township communities affected beyond the pandemic. People and organisations can assist us by increasing by donating any equipment or resources that can assist or by just purchasing food hampers for families through our Spaza shop,” says Mabuza. Mabuza details the donation process is as follows: 1. Make a donation of any amount. Note each hamper costs R150. 2. We will package the goods and identify a family in need and give them your gift through the Spaza shop. We are looking at the elderly and child headed homes. 3. We will collect details of the families you have assisted and share them with you. Donations to be made to the following account: Account Holder: Bongani Mabuza Bank: FNB Account Type: Cheque Branch Code: 250655 Account Number: 62498922783 Reference: #SpazaShopChallenge Phone Number: +27 72 517 0829 Mabuza’s plea is: “Start, support and adopt a worthy initiative; #SpazaShopChallenge. Now more than ever, we need to stand together as a country, no one should go hungry or even die if we can do something about it.”
