Durban — It doesn’t take much to make a difference in the lives of others.
Just ask Fundiswa Xaba, the 41-year-old angel from Highflats in southern KwaZulu-Natal.
She has been helping people and organisations through her self-named charity, the Fundiswa Foundation. It has a team of five individuals, including Xaba, the founder.
The organisation was formed in 2014 and lends a helping hand to vulnerable women, children and the elderly.
On the first day of each year, Xaba donates clothing to newborn babies whose parents can’t afford to provide them. She also donates clothing to charity and old-age homes.
“Supreme Women” is another event in which the foundation takes part. At the event, women receive crowns and are encouraged to love and appreciate themselves, and they attend a gala dinner.
The Fundiswa Foundation also hosts a yearly prayer meeting.
The latest on its activities list is the Mothers’ Fund-raising Fun Walk, which launches on Sunday (today). The money raised will be used to support charities.
Xaba said she had been inspired to form the organisation after an experience she had in hospital while giving birth to her son.
“A woman that was in hospital to give birth as well really struggled as she did not have any clothing items or baby essentials for her child. After seeing her dire situation, I assisted her by donating some clothes.
“I then decided that I would make donating clothes and baby essentials to hospitals a permanent thing. I also noted that there was a tendency for people to ignore the aged, so I decided to step in and donate clothes to the aged at old-age homes and to the underprivileged youth as well,” Xaba said.
The Fundiswa Foundation relies on donations for its outreach work. Often, finances are not enough and Xaba and her team have to reach into their own pockets.
Xaba, the eldest of three children, holds a certificate in radio broadcasting and journalism. She has been a presenter on Imbokodo FM and Vuma FM, but chooses to focus on the foundation full-time.
Raised by both of her parents, she said she was motivated by her experiences.
“I draw motivation from everything that I wake up to in life and, as a spiritual person, I see visions and revelations and listen to how God is talking to me,” she said.
Xaba called on people to lend a helping hand wherever possible.
“You do not need a charity foundation in order for you to give. Give at any given time … you can make a huge difference with the little that you have. Half a loaf of bread is better than nothing,” she said.
Sunday Tribune