BURYING a loved one is costly. It is for this reason that so many burial societies have sprung up in Mzansi.
The Mphe-Mphe Burial Society at Mofolo Central in Soweto was created for the same reason.
Nhlanhla Xulu, assistant chairman of Mphe-Mphe, said burial societies were formed to avoid poor burials.
“Because we did not believe in asking for donations for burials, we started our own burial society to bury our loved ones without struggling for cash,” Nhlanhla said.
Their society is one of those who have stood the test of time. Instead of failing, this society has grown from strength to strength over the past 11 years.
“We now have 21 members from around Soweto. We meet at different venues every month and pay R300 each.
“After everyone has contributed, we subtract R2 000 as premiums for the funeral parlour.
“Another R3 000 goes to the host of the day – to do whatever they want – and the remaining cash goes into our society investment account,” he said.
They aim to save that money so that should members be unable to pay their society contributions, the society can assist them while they get back on their feet.
Nhlanhla added that when members failed to pay their contributions for the month it also meant that they deposit less into their investment account. Because this does not help them save money, those who failed to pay are fined an extra R100.