In a powerful demonstration of ubuntu (humanity) and community solidarity, Sinako NPO joined hands with the Volkswagen Community Trust, Eastern Cape Community Chest, Shoprite KwaNobuhle, Build-It, Uitenhage and District Taxi Association (UDTA), South African Funeral Practitioners Association, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, as well as other community members to officially hand over a newly rebuilt home to a pensioner couple on National Mandela Day, July 18.
The KwaNobuhle-based NPO, which serves the broader Kariega and Nelson Mandela Municipality communities, took it upon itself to restore hope for the elderly couple whose home was destroyed by a sudden fire in 2014 and who had been unable to rebuild until this remarkable collaborative effort brought their dreams back to life under the banner, “We Can – bringing back human dignity.”
Speaking to the recipient, Roy Ntshanyana: “I met Mzukisi Toba (Sinako – We Can) in 2017 at a meeting. I didn’t know him at the time. At the meeting, I shared my situation, not knowing that there was someone who was listening. Toba came over, and I explained to him how the situation happened. In the morning, my wife and I were awakened by smoke and quickly evacuated the house. After the fire, I did not foresee this house ever surviving and being liveable again as everything, even our wardrobes, had burnt. Luckily, we had slept in our children’s room – they were not at home – which was not as badly affected as our room. I am just thankful that we did not die that day; otherwise, I don’t know what could have happened.”
He added, “For about five to six months, we had been staying with family until we got a call to come to the house, and to our surprise, there were heaps of rubbish lying in our yard thrown by our neighbours, but there was an excavator ready to clear up and erect a temporary structure for us. In 2021, Toba came back again to inform me that I should pray because something good was coming. He came back again in 2024 and said that it was almost time for us to be helped. We waited. In early 2025, building supplies came and I was really hopeful again. Shortly after, they started building.”
Roy said that hope had been restored since he met Toba. His wife, Nowandile Ntshanyana, shared that she is ecstatic after receiving this gift.
“My heart is content. Our church members came to visit us shortly before they started building and that is when I felt reassured. The support we got made us feel important. Toba and his team at Sinako NPO did for us what no one else had done; they gave us hope and fulfilled their promise to us.”
She added, “My husband was sick for some time, going to the clinic for check-ups, treatments, etc. and all I could think of was, ‘If he were to leave me, how would I cope? I would have had the funeral in this temporary structure, but luckily that did not happen.’”
According to Volkswagen Community Trust Stakeholder Relations Manager, Nkosinathi Clay, the Community Trust works with any registered non-profit organisations to make something like this happen. “Sinako NPO is one of the organisations we work with, providing financial relief to families like the Ntshanyana family for something like this to be done. Each organisation, when approaching us for help, writes to us and shares what their organisation has been doing in the past year, their success rate, what project they are currently working on, and the amount of money they will need to fulfil its needs. From there, it goes through various stages, through our committee and board of trustees to see if the money can be allocated for it. We as the trust then take the initiative in front of the board to advocate for its approval.” He added that the focus of the VW Community Trust is education, youth development, environmental, and community health and well-being.
South African Funeral Practitioners Association’s Regional Executive Member, Vero Vinqi, said the NPO reached out to them to help, and they did so by getting a quotation from Build It of how much the paint would cost and covered the costs on behalf of the family. “We saw a lot of key figures helping, like VW and Community Chest, so it felt fitting to help as well. Our customers are our community, so that made it easier to help where we could.”
Shoprite KwaNobuhle Branch Manager, Khanya Luvuno, said that as Shoprite KwaNobuhle is commonly active in its community, they donated food parcels for the month to the family, as they are a grocery store. “In every home, there must be food,” he said. “Normally we have NPOs that we work with, and since we have worked well with Sinako before, this initiative felt right, because we would also be helping a community member who most probably buys their groceries from us.”
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