Residents of Klein Helderkruin Retirement Village were grateful to have Ward 83’s DA candidate, Dr Florence Roberts and her good friends visit them to do good deeds with them on Mandela Day.
“About two months ago, I sent out an appeal to various individuals, tradesmen and company owners to come and spend their 67 minutes with me at the Klein Helderkruin Retirement Village to honour Madiba’s 67 years of selfless dedication to fighting for peace, reconciliation and democracy by doing good for others. The pensioners at this old age home are struggling to make ends meet and there is little to no money left in their meagre budgets to pay for basic repairs to the home. I also attached a long list of maintenance repairs to be carried out at the home. I think my ex-boss (Nelson Mandela) would have expected nothing less of me,” Florence said.
She also explained that, “As a social psychologist, I spend a lot of time counselling the residents when they experience trauma. In the first part of the session I’m always shown the broken tap; the hole in the wall; the broken toilet seat, etc., etc. While most of us can hire and pay for a plumber or handyman, these pensioners cannot and these small issues affect their lives on a daily basis and make it just unpleasant. While the Housing Department does handle some of the repairs, they cannot get to all of it and the list of repairs grows and grows.”
According to Florence, she was called out there two weeks ago to counsel a bereaved widow who had lost her husband. He had been ill for more than 20 years and she faithfully took care of him the entire time. He had fallen against the bedroom window and passed away the next evening – succumbing to his chronic condition. The widow was distraught and then worried about the money needed to replace a broken window and to pay for a funeral.
“Fortunately, and by God’s good grace, many generous people responded and heeded the call to action that celebrates the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, and the ability to make an impact,” she said.
“A plumbing company, an electrician, handymen, cleaners and organisers descended on the village, bringing with them not just the labour force, but also all the necessary hardware. They spread out to the various units requiring repairs. The bereaved widow had her window repaired; toilet seats were replaced; holes were pasted up; taps were fixed; light bulbs were replaced; the vegetable garden was weeded; and they sprayed for ants, etc., etc. The list was long but these generous souls carried out the work in a selfless manner and explained that the work was Pro Deo – for God – a service Madiba himself would have been very proud of.
“I was in awe at the generosity of the people living in Wilro Park and my heart was full. They assured me that they would be back to help again. They are true examples of ‘Love in Action’, and they listened when Madiba said: ‘There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to helping others without expecting anything in return’,” she added.
