Senzokuhle club has grown beyond expectations

Funerals are costly, and having an unreliable stokvel that fails to deliver on its promises can leave you and your family scrambling to find money to pay for it.

After realising that a lot of people were being short-changed by their stokvels, Xolani Ndlovu and partners established Senzokuhle Social Club in February 2019. Ndlovu said it was not right there were families let down by their stokvels during such a difficult time.

“When people come to a funeral, they care less about the decor and coffin. They want food. Not having enough groceries can lead to a shortage of food.

“Many stokvels do not live up to their promise. Sometimes they deliver fewer items than they promised during their recruitment drive. This can lead to frustration for families who will now have to find money to buy food to feed the mourners,” said Ndlovu.

He said many of their members had joined after attending a funeral and saw just how much food there was.

“Our social club has grown beyond imagination. I literally get phone calls from people who want to join every day. It only means that we have done really well and people can see the good work we are doing and that we don’t disappoint.

”Ndlovu said the stokvel delivered groceries and vegetables worth R10,000 when there was a bereavement. Their premiums, which can be paid at most retail shops, are R150 a month.

“Seeing people get their groceries makes me happy. There is life after a funeral and our social club ensures that people have enough food for months to come after the burial.

“Many families struggle with this after a funeral because some borrowed money to pay for the funeral and our social club bridges that gap,” said Ndlovu.

“We started this to ensure that we get rid of stokvels that do not deliver on their promises, ” he said, adding that they had a team that went out to buy groceries when a member puts in a claim.

Ndlovu said one of the challenges they had when they started the stokvel was that a member would pass away and no one from their family would continue paying premiums.

“This led to us increasing the waiting period to six months. A member can add nine people under their name. We cover people up to 75 years old. However, because we have a lotof people who joined years ago, they are now over 75. We did not want to kick them out.“

Anyone who wants to cover an elderly person over 75, pays an extra R75 for that person,” said Ndlovu.

Busi Jones, 61, said she became aware of the stokvel when she attended a funeral.

“I could not believe it. In 2020 Il ost my husband and the stokvel came through for me. The grocery was left behind and I only needed to buy meat for months after the funeral,” said Jones.

■ mashabas@sowetan .co.za