Page 32 - Rural Voice III - Responding to a Pandemic

gloria mabhEntsEla
Food parcels distributed
104
GETTING PEOPLE TO GIVE UP CHURCH SERVICES AND FUNERALS TO SAVE LIVES WAS A BIG DEAL
gloria mabhenTsela, coordinaTor of The Tyinira rural developmenT iniTiaTive, is deeply concerned abouT The hunger crisis in her communiTy
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, our organisation was busy with community development and upliftment projects, like our chicken farm and giving people legal advice. COVID-19 not only brought associated illnesses and deaths to Tyinira, it also brought many job losses and hunger. It was terrible to see gender-based violence occurring, when people were shut in their homes during the lockdown. Old people were also targeted. In our community, an elderly pensioner died after being violently robbed of their pension. Also, the municipality failed to provide support for the needy.
how The pandemic impacTed The Tyinira rural developmenT iniTiaTive’s work in The communiTy
It was very difficult to get the message across to people in our community about the dangers of COVID-19 and how to prevent it. People were difficult at times. Even when we spoke to them and shared whatever knowledge we had, they would ignore us and act carelessly. They behaved like COVID-19 was over, yet it can come back even worse in a second wave. The high rate of unemployment in our area is always a big challenge, because families go hungry and joblessness can kill hope.
TYINIRA RURAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
Established in 2011, the Tyinira Rural Development Centre is concerned with paralegal support, food security, food gardens, and poultry farming.
DISTRICT: Amatole District Municipality
COVID-19 CASES: From March to the end of October 2020, there were 9,249 cases of COVID-19 reported in the Amatole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape. There were 289 fatalities.
DIRECTOR: Gloria Mabhentsela
NUMBER OF STAFF: 3, NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 21
BOARD CHAIR: Lumka Dlathu
BOARD MEMBERS: Funiwe Sofute; Bethwell Zondani; Mavis Tshevu
ADDRESS: Nofikile Village, Ngqamakhwe
PHONE: 071 094 7702, EMAIL: tyiniraruraldev@gmail.com
32
RURAL VOICE III: RESPONDING TO A PANDEMIC