By: Lungisa Somtombo
Not having basic toiletries is one of the reasons behind school absenteeism, low self-esteem, and low pass rate. Yonela Diniso and her friends started a donation drive for toiletries called Khuph’onako for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in King Williams Town, Madliki Village.
Khuph’onako which means give what you have is a drive that seeks the public to donate basic toiletries like toothpaste, roll on, body lotion, toothbrush, shoe polish and bath soap.
The brains behind the drive, Yonela Diniso said the drive started from a conversation she had with her two friends, Yolanda Mnikina and Olwethu Guwa about projects they could do for community development, starting at their church going to the community of Madliki Village.
“We would see children go to school with unpolished shoes, not because they don’t want to polish but because there is no polish back at home,” she said.
She added that she and her friends do not have the means to buy these toiletries but would like for the children to have them to boost their self-confidence around other children at school.
Further, Diniso said people love the idea of Khuph’onako and are donating, even though they still need more people to donate.
“We would like to ask people to donate toiletries. As much as they seem like they don’t matter and are affordable, there are children who need them but can’t afford to purchase them,” said Diniso.
Explaining how people can donate, she said people can find her on Facebook as Yonela Diniso and they can call her on 074 462 6062.
Concluding, she said they will be distributing on the fifth of January next year at Madliki Village. They would like this to grow and go to other places as well.