The Sasfin KZN office chose Tafta as the beneficiary of their 67 minutes for Mandela Day. Tafta provides care to the elderly and neglected in KZN, and we are proud to be able to get involved with them this year.
This year for Mandela Day, our KZN office chose Tafta as the beneficiary of their 67 minutes. Tafta is one of South Africa’s leading, registered non-profit organisations in elder care in KZN. They provide care and support to more than 1,500 older people in residential facilities and 3,500 through outreach programmes at 24 service locations in the form of homes, clubs, and social services. Their purpose is to make dignity, growth, and meaningful life a realistic prospect for all elders.
It’s a purpose that resonated with Sameera Fortune, Sasfin’s Durban Facilities Officer, who headed up the KZN Mandela Day initiative. “The elderly raised our parents, who raised us to be who we are today. They truly deserve our love and care.”
Mandela Day at our Durban office began with packing care bags for the elderly. It was all hands on deck as staff from every department gathered to create care bags filled with goodies like sweets, scarves, beanies, toiletries, and more. Those bags were then distributed by Sameera and Warren Lester who went to St Martins Village, one of Tafta’s care homes in Sydenham that houses 28 elders. Once there, they handed out the packs and spent time with the residents in the community hall which was set up for everyone to enjoy tea and cake. “There’s no point in visiting and handing everything over to the elderly when you’re not able to share your time with them. Time is limited and invaluable,” Sameera says.
There’s no point in going there and handing everything over to the Elderly when you’re not giving them your time. Time is limited and invaluable.
Looking back on this day, Sameera gets emotional. “We’ve all got grandparents, and we know life gets ahead of us; we get busy with work. Sometimes we barely even have time for our own parents, let alone the elders. ” Anthia, Belinda, and Kashmere who were also an instrumental part of the Mandela Day morning said “Our elders are the forgotten generation,” and continuing that they were pleased to be able to spend their 67 minutes on Mandela Day giving back to the elderly.
“It was truly fulfilling, seeing the joy and smiles light up their faces,” Sameera says, echoing the Tafta motto “Wrinkles will only go where the smiles have been”.
To find out more about Tafta, visit https://tafta.org.za/.
