Community and Family

East Londoners this weekend can spin their way towards raising funds for a local charity.

Ultimate Events and Body Culture Health and Wellness Centre are hosting the Body Culture 48-hour Charity Spinathon at the Hemingways Mall amphitheatre at the weekend. 
Pedals started spinning yesterday as people from all over the city joined in the fun in aid of a good cause.

In a new book titled Parenting: a Journey of Love author Dr Fulata Lusungu Moyo of the World Council of Churches (WCC) offers profound perspectives on parenting, especially in context of HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa.

This is the target set by Habitat for Humanity South Africa as they embark on their National Corporate Build during the week of the 3 - 7 October 2011.

Building communities around the houses they construct is at the core of what Habitat for Humanity South Africa is all about. In the same way bricks form the foundation of a home for a family, a Habitat house provides the foundation for community growth and development.

Proving that the spirit of ubuntu is still alive and well in Buffalo City, three senior citizens are set to benefit from a community initiative to rebuild their houses after they were gutted by fire.

Thembeka Jadezweni, 74, lost all her possessions when her four- roomed home in Mdantsane’s NU1 caught fire and burnt down, leaving her and her three grandchildren without a roof over their heads. Jadezweni had no idea where to turn or what to do as she survives on only her R1080 monthly social grant.

Clergymen in Port Elizabeth’s Helenvale area are rolling up their sleeves in a bid to restore the moral fibre of the community and ultimately rid the area of poverty, gangsterism and crime.

The team of church leaders from numerous churches in the area have joined forces with the Helenvale Youth Enrichment Project (HYEP) to work towards this common goal.

Their involvement forms part of a new crime prevention strategy, which along with –other initiatives like the Helenvale street patrols and the street soccer project, was the brainchild of HYEP.

Violence against women in conflict areas in Africa has reached epidemic proportions.

Yet as conflict continues to unfold, from the Ivory Coast to the ever-turbulent Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is still mostly a silent disaster.

It remains out of donors' reach and almost invisible in the media, increasing during and after disasters as already fragile structures of law and order break down.

But does this mean African women are always helpless, voiceless victims in places of conflict?

Members of the East London community have opened their hearts to actively participate in lessening the impact of violence against women and children.

While today marks the launch of the international 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children, some work is being done to alleviate the impact of gender- based violence all year round.

If there really are angels on Earth then Neels and Molly Bam must be the real deal.

For the past 18 years, the “Angels of Alexandria” have been caring for abused, abandoned and sick children at their Jehovah Jireh Haven in the conservative seaside town.

“Over the years we have had about 600 children pass through our doors,” Neels said.

“Some have come from children’s homes in Port Elizabeth for school holidays, while others have been more permanent.”

Although Motherwell resident and The Herald GM Citizen of the Year award nominee Xolile Raymond Bonakele is by no means a rich man, he wants to share what little he has.

Seen by many as a local hero, he is especially known for his feeding scheme for impoverished schoolchildren in the Nelson Mandela Bay neighbourhood.

Bonakele founded the Ikhaa Labantu feeding scheme in 2003, with the aim of feeding pupils at various schools who would otherwise have to learn on an empty stomach.

The Ubuntu Education Fund, which aims to uplift people in the communities it serves, officially opened the Ubuntu Community Centre in Zwide, Port Elizabeth, yesterday.

The centre, for which planning began in 2006, is the culmination of the efforts of the Ubuntu Education Fund, which has become one of South Africa’s largest NGOs since its founding in 1999.

The opening was attended by many supporters of the project, including Mayor Zanoxolo Wayile and jazz legend Hugh Masekela, who also performed.