By Promise Dube
Some community members in Insiza South are part of a thriving local grief fund called Godlwayo Family United that aims to help families when a bereavement occurs.
Nation Mhlophe, the group’s chairperson, said the organisation was established in May 2021 as a way for locals to support each other during death, which is a distressing time for many.
Mhlophe said Godlwayo Family United so far has 200 active members and when someone passes away, each member donates R100 to the bereaved family.
“In total we contribute R20 000 rands to the one who would have lost a family member,” he said in an interview with CITE
“Sometimes we can go for months without contributing.”
Mhlophe said some of the group members are based in the Diaspora such as in Australia and South Africa.
“Members who are in Zimbabwe gather at a shop owned by a member at the Vokola Business Center to make their contributions, and those who are not in the country, send the money into the account of the bereaved person,” said the chairperson.
“We make sure that every member contributes because after sending the money one has to send proof of payment in our Whatsapp group.”
The group chairperson claimed people were interested in joining their fund after seeing its potential but the group was yet to collectively meet in April and decide whether to allow more or not.
“As we grow, our wish is to have our own mortuary and vehicles that we will be using. We are yet to discuss how we are going to raise the money to buy vehicles as well as considering whether to add others or not,” Mhlophe said.
Mhlophe also said starting the initiative had not been a ‘stroll in the park’ due to different expectations and personalities.
“Some people gave up after a year of running, while others persisted. To strengthen our group, we had to come up with rules and acceptable beneficiaries,” he said, adding that everyone who joined the group went through an interview process and was oriented on the rules.
“If a member does not contribute we remove them because we want to avoid doing favours.”
Mhlophe added that members must also provide the identities of the beneficiaries to prevent situations in which people falsely claim to be related to the deceased.
“To make sure that we have accurate information, we also engage with community stakeholders who are familiar to the local families,” he said.
“If there are to be new members, they must contribute three times in order to be eligible for assistance.”
