Mother inspires creation of NPO to feed the needy

Mpho Mashego’s dream was to work in corporate as a public relations practitioner but her struggle to find work helped her realise her purpose of helping those in need. 

It all began in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and her street vendor mother, Sanny Mashego, was no longer able to sell food in their impoverished township of Alexandra, Johannesburg, due to the lockdown. 

“My mother had bought a lot of stock for her business and since she could no longer operate, she decided that we should cook for the kids that would normally rely on leftovers from her business. The initial plan was to continue doing this until lockdown was over but little did we know that it would continue for so long.

"Even after lockdown ended, we couldn’t stop. My mother had to tap into her savings to continue to fund our initiative,” the 29-year-old said. 

“That’s how the Swaragano NPO [non-profit organisation] was born. I used to post a lot about what we were doing and would post the meals we’d cook for the children until people kept advising me to register an NPO.” 

While her mother has returned to work on a full-time basis, she still partly funds the NPO.

Mashego said she uses recycling to generate money to buy food. 

“We mostly rely on donations from good Samaritans who either give us money or non-perishable food items. We have no funding so we still struggle a bit but my mother helps where she can and gets things like cooking oil, meat and soap. I also recycle plastic and that helps in buying things like potatoes, cabbage and bread,” she said. 

Mashego said her mother always encouraged them to save money and to share the little they had with others. 

“From a young age, my mother would always help others and I looked up to her for that. She was also very big on saving and was able to send me to college with her savings and when they ran out, my father used his retirement money to pay off my fees,” she said. 

Mashego said her focus is on growing the organisation.

“I no longer want to work in PR because I’ve realised that this is my purpose. I’ve got faith that one day Swaragano will be as big as the Gift of the Givers and have a wider reach. I’m right where I want to be and have seen a big change in what we’re doing from when we started, so I really look forward to the journey. 

“I always tell my mother how I can’t wait to make her proud because she’s made me so proud in how she raised us and how giving she is. She has contributed a lot to the woman I am today and she has shown me my purpose and my love for helping those in need.”

The Kuseni Dlamini Foundation donated groceries to Swaragano on Tuesday. They will continue to do so until December. 

"Without you [Mashego] 250 people will not be benefiting. We are proud to partner with you to ensure that people do not go hungry,” said Dlamini.

magadlam@sowetan.co.za