Maelula family swop shack for brand new house

An unemployed woman who lived in a dilapidated tin shack with her five children shed tears of joy when she received a brand new, fully furnished five-room house with a borehole on Saturday, 15 May.

Ms Munyadziwa Musundwa and her children, who live at Maelula village, could not believe their eyes when the keys to their new home were handed over to them. When the donor, Mr Femi Adeleke, opened the door - marking the official opening of the house - Musundwa could not contain her emotions. She said the donation came at exactly the right time, as they had no shelter. “We initially thought that people in rural areas are neglected, but we know now that there are people out there who care, and we are very thankful,” she said.

“God is great! I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would one day have a beautiful house like this one. Life was tough for me and my children. When it rained, we had to sit up the whole night as there was water all over. Sometimes thieves would just break in and steal whatever was in the house.”

Cllr Nehemiah Madzhiga of the Makhado Municipality thanked Adeleke and the Nigerian Union South Africa (NUSA) for the good work they are doing within the communities. “We are very happy to have Adeleke, who understands our language as a government that alone we cannot do things for all our people, but if other people also identify people in need and assist them, we can do more for our people together,” he said.

Adeleke said he is proud to be a part of the “good deeds” aimed at uplifting communities. “We got in touch with Musundwa with the help of a local journalist,” he said.

He stated that most of the families they helped consisted of unemployed people who needed assistance from the community. “They did not choose to be poor and need to be uplifted by those who can do something for them,” he said and added that these donations were based “on love and brotherhood”.

Ms Thelma Ramabulana, representative of Maelula Royal Council, said that although more challenges lay ahead, the community was proud of Adeleke and the Nigerian Union for joining the fight against poverty and underdevelopment.

The South African president of the Nigerian Union, Adetola Olubaji, said they were touched to hear of the family's plight. “Everyone deserves better, and it is our obligation to make sure that even the Musundwa family can live comfortably like other community members. It is our joint responsibility to eliminate poverty, hunger, and underdevelopment within our communities. As Africans, we are one, irrespective of our geographic location,” Olubaji said.

Date:30 May 2021

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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