- An organisation birthed during the Covid-19 lockdown in July 2020 is making a difference in the Eastern Cape town of Qonce.
- Masixole Loli is the brains behind the initiative and he is knocking on doors for support.
- He says the youth of today can learn from the youth of 1976 who were able to succeed with the little they had.
"The youth has the power and potential to shape our country."
These are the words of a 27-year-old Eastern Cape man who is making a difference in his community through his non-profit organisation, albeit with minimal support and sponsorship.
Masixole Loli hails from Ginsberg on the banks of the Buffalo River in Qonce (King William's Town), where the founder of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement, Steve Biko, was born and raised.
Although he always envisaged that he would contribute towards changing his community, he never had the time until Covid-19 hit South African shores in 2020, birthing his NPO, the Masixole Loli Foundation, which feeds and clothes the needy young and old people.
Telling News24 his story, Loli said he grew up at a time when drugs, alcohol abuse and crime dominated the streets of the township.
"We are a small community but there are a lot of bad things happening [in Ginsberg]. I thought about [starting the NPO] many years ago, but I had no plan to start it because I was young. I had no means to do anything until last year when I came up with the idea [of starting] something," he said.
His mentor and close friends encouraged him to turn his vision into a reality and he started feeding and clothing the needy in July 2020.
Loli spends most of his time playing football, which played a role in his desire to bring hope and change to his community and neighbouring ones.
He added:
Since then, he has been knocking on doors for sponsors.
"We only managed to get one sponsor, Superspar Nicks Foods KWT, and we have been surviving through that one sponsor...We try to feed each and every community member who is in need of food every Friday," he said.
Through his organisation, he feeds people at a local hall in Ginsberg but plans to move out of the township and offer meals at taxi ranks and other communities in Qonce. He is unable to move out of the town but is working towards that goal.
He said he believed age was not a restriction and that it shouldn't be one when one wants to bring about change.
"I believe the youth has the power and potential to shape our country. South Africa depends on us and you only need two people to change the community. If the people believe in you, they will spread the word. It does not take age to be able to change another person's life," he said.
Youth Day, he added, should be used to educate people about the past and how people like Biko died for freedom.
"We did not just get where we are today by luck. People were shot and killed. My foundation planned to do something for the day but we have limited resources.
"If you look at the youth of 1976, they were strong and were willing to use the little they had. We have so much but we do nothing. Our youth has turned to drugs [and] crime [is] taking over."
"If you work forward, even if it's baby steps - at least you are going somewhere. As long as you have the direction, courage and passion to do something, I think anything is possible. Start where you are and you will see where you are going along the road."