Shane Titana wants only one thing for Christmas. And that is to make ten families from Mbekweni’s Christmas an unforgettable one.
His mother instilled the noble principles of philanthropy in him at a tender age and ever since Shane had an innate desire to do good for other people. That is why he founded the Human Nature Community Project.
This registered non-profit organisation was launched in 2019 as a sanitary towel drive for schools in Mbekweni. His partners in the project are Asiphe Kamte, Nwabisa Mvula and Dumisani Bolani. They all reside in Mbekweni.
For Christmas the Human Nature Community Project plans to assist an organisation in Mbekweni that collects clothes and cook meals. They are going to buy three pairs of school shoes and buy a R5 000 voucher for their Christmas lunch.
“We are also going to do something really nice to make 10 lucky families’ Christmas really unforgettable. I don’t want to give too much detail about it now, but I can tell you those families will never forget this Christmas.”
The 34-year-old credits his mom for his caring nature. “When I was young and my mom took me out she would always give street kids something to eat. I would always ask her why she was doing it and she would answer that is was out of her good heart and that we must always look after each other.”
Shane says market research showed that there are young girls who did not attend schools on a monthly basis due to a lack of sanitary towels.
Shane says they focus mainly on girls and education in order to secure a better future for our learners.
“During donation handovers we educate young boys and girls about menstruation. We also motivate them to stay in school and dream big.
“Since we have started, we have donated more than 15 000 sanitary towels to community members and schools in Mbekweni (Langabuya Primary School, Imboniselo Primary School, Mbekweni Higher Primary, Ishlumelo Junior Secondary School and Desmond Mpilo Tutu Secondary School), Wellington (Van Wyksvlei Primary School, Wellington Primary School), Hermon (Rondeheuwel Primary School) and Stellenbosch (Vlottenburg Primary School) to mention just a few.”
Over time, Shane explains, they saw there was a dire need for school uniforms, shoes, and stationery. The shocking and unhygienic state of some school toilets also caught their attention. They thus embarked on various projects at Mbekweni with renovations and donations of sanitary ware and more.
Shane says gender-based violence (GBV) has a massive impact on women and children. “Sometimes we think that GBV is only when someone is being physically or emotionally abused. But depriving them from having free sanitary towels is the worst punishment ever in humankind.”
The group’s slogan reads: “Since the beginning of humankind, humans have been kind”.
If you want to donate or just contact Shane, visit their Instagram or Facebook page called Human Nature Community Project, email them at humannatureproject20@gmail.com or call him at 064 371 2129.
