By Palesa Matlala
• Pastor Fumani Twala’s organisation took more than 90 bags of clothing and school uniforms and 70 grocery packs to struggling families in Mozambique.
• Fumani and seven women fund much of their charity work themselves, contributing money every month while searching for donations and business support.
Pastor Fumani Twala could not sit back while families went hungry and vulnerable people struggled without clothes.
Then her mission crossed South Africa’s borders.
Fumani and her small team of seven women recently travelled to Mozambique carrying more than 90 bags packed with clothing and school uniforms.
They also took 70 grocery packs for people trying to rebuild their lives after devastating floods.
For Fumani, the journey was the latest step in a mission that started with a Bible verse and a vision she says would not leave her alone.
“God gave me a vision from the scripture of Matthew 25v34, which speaks about feeding the hungry, dressing the poor and reaching out to the brokenhearted and most vulnerable,” she said.
“I could no longer ignore it. I had to start doing something.”
In September 2024, Fumani officially launched the Ministry of Testimony for the Elderly and Vulnerable.
The non profit organisation works with churches and herdsmen in villages to identify people who desperately need help.
They are asked to identify 15 families or individuals in need. Fumani’s organisation then provides food and clothing every four months.
But the mission grew after floods devastated communities in January.
Fumani’s organisation joined musicians Linah Ebony Ngcobo, who is originally from Tzaneen, and Ihashi Elimhlophe to help the Mbaula community.
They donated food and clothing to families hit by the floods.
Seeing the destruction convinced Fumani that their work could not stop at the South African border.
“After Mbaula I was now strongly convinced that we have to reach out to Mozambique, as they were also hit the most by the natural disaster,” she said.
Fumani and her team started collecting donations.
Eventually, they gathered more than 90 bags of clothes and school uniforms as well as 70 grocery packs.
They travelled to Mozambique and handed the donations to a church and community members in Mutale outside Maputo.
“Coming back our hearts were full, but there is still a lot to be done as these people are rebuilding their homes from scratch,” Fumani said.
Behind the donations is a group of eight women putting their own money into helping strangers.
Each of the seven women working with Fumani contributes R400 every month.
Fumani contributes R1,100 because she says she wants to lead by example.
When money runs short, she sometimes asks her own family to help keep the work going.
The organisation does not have sponsorship or regular outside funding, making its work difficult.
But Fumani is already dreaming bigger.
She wants to establish a soup kitchen where elderly people and others struggling to afford food can get a meal.
For now, that dream remains difficult without financial support.
Fumani is appealing to businesses and other donors to support the organisation so it can reach more vulnerable people.
For her, every grocery pack, school uniform and pair of shoes is another step towards the mission she believes she was called to fulfil.
Pictured above: Pastor Fumani Twala hands shoes to a learner during one of the organisation’s outreach programmes.
Image source: Supplied.
