Sunday, October 4, 2026

Township Stories & Realities - International Day of Older Persons

 


Today is the International Day of Older Persons.

 At our kitchen, that means Mama Dikeledi, who was stirring the pot before most of us woke up.

She's 66 and has run the morning pot for five years. 

She knows which kids skipped supper by how fast they eat, and she keeps a tin of extra sugar for the ones who need their porridge sweet to finish it. 

Across our communities, older people carry more than their share: raising grandchildren, stretching one pension over a whole household, holding the memory of how things were done. Today we want to say their names out loud.

Share this and tag an older person in your life who keeps things running. 

Tell them you noticed.

#OlderPersonsDay #RespectOurElders #TownshipStories #Ubuntu #CommunityFirst

 ❤️Link for donation  -    https://www.clrfoundation.com/donate-1

Like PandaYou can join our WhatsApp channel for daily updates, stories and videos. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6QzBf72WU2IWqXcQ3Z  

🔴 Trying to make a difference. 🔴

 

From the CLR Foundation, we thank every donor for their support, which helps us to continue visiting the townships and making a difference. 

 

Township Stories and Realities - Mam Thandi

 


Mam' Thandi taught Grade 3 for 31 years. 

She retired in 2019. 

She never stopped teaching.

Most afternoons she sits on a plastic chair by the reading corner, a cup of rooibos going cold next to her. 

The kids bring her books; she brings the voices.

 She reads in Sesotho first, then English, and she does the lion so well that the younger ones hide behind each other. 

Her pension doesn't go far, and her knees complain on the walk over, but she says an afternoon with a child and a book is the one thing that still makes her feel like herself.

We're building a proper storytime around elders like Mam' Thandi. 

Follow along this week, and if you know a gogo or mkhulu with stories to tell, send them our way.

 ❤️Link for donation  -    https://www.clrfoundation.com/donate-1

Like PandaYou can join our WhatsApp channel for daily updates, stories and videos. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6QzBf72WU2IWqXcQ3Z  

🔴 Trying to make a difference. 🔴

 

From the CLR Foundation, we thank every donor for their support, which helps us to continue visiting the townships and making a difference. 

 

#TownshipStories #Literacy #RespectOurElders #CommunityFirst #SouthAfrica

Saturday, October 3, 2026

Township Stories and Realities - Our Elders

 


"Indlela ibuzwa kwabaphambili." — The road is asked of those who have walked it before. (isiZulu proverb)

Our elders have lived through droughts, hard winters, and years when the pot was smaller than it should have been. 

They carry more know-how than any manual: how to stretch a bag of maize meal, how to settle a crying child, how to tell a story that makes a whole room go quiet. 

This week, we're asking them for directions, and listening properly.

Who's an elder whose advice you still use today? 

Tell us about them in the comments.

 ❤️Link for donation  -    https://www.clrfoundation.com/donate-1

Like PandaYou can join our WhatsApp channel for daily updates, stories and videos. https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6QzBf72WU2IWqXcQ3Z  

🔴 Trying to make a difference. 🔴

 

From the CLR Foundation, we thank every donor for their support, which helps us to continue visiting the townships and making a difference. 

 

 #Ubuntu #Motivation #RespectOurElders