StokvelS normally contribute money and gifts to uplift each other as members of a group.
But one stokvel, Lukhangela Kuwe – co-founded by Reverend Ntomboxolo Malangeni of the African Reformed Church of Southern Africa – went out of the way to help young two sisters in need.
The stokvel reached out to a family of two orphaned daughters from Marikana, a kasi in Cape Town. They were in a dire situation after losing their mother and breadwinner.
After their mum’s death they struggled to make ends meet. The young women were quickly forced to sleep with men for money to avoid starvation.
SunStokvel is not providing the names of the two young women for their own safety and dignity.
The older sister (24) said: “I lost my job on 17 May and my mother died on 1 June.
“Life has not been kind to us.
“To afford food, we started selling our bodies. Poverty forcedus to have sex with men for money.
“My younger sister did a six-month computer course so I thought she had the right qualifications to find a job but nothing has come along.”
Reverent Malangeni said when she heard about the problem of the two women, she decided to act.
“They told us that they only eat biscuits and tea for supper. During the day, they travel to town to earn money.
The stokvel knew that selfless charity was the best way to worship so they contributed food and R650 to the two sisters.
The elder sister said: “We are trying to save R1 000 to buy a fridge. We can store meat in it and start a shisa nyama.
“But we can also start by buying meat and asking our neighbours to store it for us while we earn enough money to afford a fridge later.”
