A GROUP of men have taken it upon themselves to buy diapers for poor kids around the townships in Cape Town.
Under the banner of an organisation called Father Figure, the men managed to gather over 100 packs of diapers in a Diaper Drive Initiative in Gugulethu on Sunday, 31 March, and they are planning to raise more.
Father Figure founder and chairman Nathi Mahlanyana (41) said they are fighting diaper poverty in Mzansi because they have seen a lot of children struggling without diapers.
They plan to raise 25 000 single diapers which they plan to give to poor families and orphanages around the country.
"A child wears around 6000 diapers from the time they are born until they are trained, but there are children who cannot afford even one a day. Six out of 10 children in South Africa don't have adequate diapers. As men we thought of what we can do to help children in such a situation that is why we started,"" said Mahlanyana.
He said under the Father Figure program, which started in 2019, they have been doing various initiatives, including buying reading books and stationery for children.
Mahlanyana said they realised that a lot of children lacked father figures in their homes, so they decided to act.
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"It was through realising that there is a missing element in some children that are missing fathers. We started here in Gugulethu, and we started by providing stationery," said Mahlanyana.
Kasi Raiders president Samuel "Samisto" Simons and his team also contributed to the initiative.
"We are grateful to be part of this initiative because it is meant to improve the lives of our people. We are prepared to support this kind of initiative at any time because it is meant to uplift our children," he said.
The Ny91 Over 30s Social Soccer League also took part in the diaper initiative as a way to celebrate their dead member, Bobby Gonca.
A resident who attended the event said she was grateful to see men starting to "wake up" and do what is best for children.
"When we grew up, a child was a child for the community. If you misbehaved, a neighbour would discipline you with a sjambok, and when your parents came back, they never had an issue with it. Our parents looked after each other's backs, but today, it is the opposite. I'm happy to see men buying diapers for poor children who are not even theirs. We call that Ubuntu," said Nozicelo Fudumele.
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