Kloof residents Daniel and Elza Koekemoer are part of a tiny but formidable team, the Zimbabwe Pensioners Support Fund (ZPS), that delivers sustenance to nearly 2 000 destitute elderly Zimbabweans. Andrea Abbott investigates.
“These are people trapped in a country they helped to build but that has turned its back on them,” says Daniel, a local businessman and hairdresser. “They’re impoverished, have no back-up and no families in Zimbabwe. Some have no family at all.”
Not that they didn’t provide for their old age. Most were once well-off, but the insane antics of an anti-hero cost them everything they’d worked for – farms, livelihoods, pensions that were either frozen or became worthless overnight, security in their
golden years.
The impression is that Zimbabwe has improved under the political “settlement”, but Daniel says that in many ways things are worse, the suffering intolerable. Without ZPS, many could not survive.
The fund was born 10 years ago when Hannes Botha from Malalane visited relatives in Zimbabwe, taking groceries that were unobtainable there. Needy pensioners then asked him to bring small items, like Marmite, on his next visit. The kind deed grew until Hannes had to buy a small truck.
Joining forces
In time, other volunteers joined, including Hannes’s brother, Attie, ex-Zimbabweans Daniel and Elza, and Grade 5’s at St Mary’s School, who help to sort and pack donated items delivered to the Koekemoer’s Kloof home into personalised boxes.
A second vehicle was added when a farmer from Darling drove a load of goods to Malalane and donated the refrigerated truck too. Other donations come from churches, service organisations, farmers’ associations, the MOTHS, corporates, schools and individuals at all levels of society.
“People are incredibly generous,” Daniel says. With characteristic modesty, he doesn’t include himself and Elza in that, and yet they give so much to the cause. Their daunting task begins with packing goods into boxes bearing each pensioner’s name. “There’s no go-between,” Daniel explains. “We deliver directly to each person.”
Kloof to Bulawayo
That delivery is no mean feat. Every six weeks, two trucks leave Malalane for Zimbabwe. It’s a long (last year, a total of 45 000 kilometres), expensive (14 400 litres of diesel used in 2010) and exhausting trip, made tougher by often ridiculous red tape at the borders and unsuccessful attempts by some officials to extort bribes.
“It’s worth it just for the reception we get,” says Daniel. “Last Christmas, our 11-year-old daughter, Stephanie came up with us. That meant more to the pensioners than we could have imagined. We hadn’t realised that most haven’t had direct contact with a child for years. Their gratitude is heart-rending. There’s a festive atmosphere whenever we arrive.”
It’s not hard to realise why. The pensioners are down to their last morsel by then and some desperately need medicines. Once, supplies of insulin had run out on the very day the trucks arrived.
Pensioners’ wishlist
So what’s on the wish list? Non-perishable food is the priority and even small items like candles and matches because of persistent power cuts. UTI Couriers once transported a consignment from Kloof to Malalane and more such offers would be a boon. Money is always needed – last year, nearly a million rands worth of food and sustenance was delivered – and medicines too. “Small medical procedures would vastly improve the quality of life for some,” Daniel adds. “So we’d welcome doctors and dentists to join us.”
Drivers with heavy duty licences and 10 days to spare would make all the difference. “Hannes had a by-pass operation and Attie a knee op last year, which leaves me as the only driver,” explains Daniel, who forfeits his earnings from his salon every time he makes the journey. “You’ve got to be fit to load and offload thousands of boxes, and you have to deal with hardships like being stuck at the border for three days!”
Put otherwise, the fund needs more heroes. Sounds like a job for Superman!
Contact Daniel on 083 233 4257, Elza on 076 881 3658 or e-mail afrimede@mweb.co.za. Or follow them on Facebook! Search for Zimbabwe Pensioners Support Fund