Mutale Fire Fighters forgot their fire-fighting kits for a while to engage themselves in another kind of fight, that against poverty and hunger.

Twenty staff members collected more than R2 000 to assist the Mashaba family of Phalama village, outside Tshilamba, which is a tragic victim of poverty. The family used an old corrugated iron sheet as a door and one of the windowpanes was broken. They only had a zink toilet and they did not have money for its erection.

Staff members from the Mutale Fire Station bought a new door, a lock and paid for the installation. As if that was not enough, they also hired someone to dig the toilet hole, bought cement and paid for all the labour of the construction of the toilet. Mutale Municipality donated three Malanceunc trees, which were planted by the Mashaba family, to diarise the first poverty alleviation relief of its kind by the staff of Mutale Fire Station. The formal handover of the donations took place at the Mutale Fire Station on Wednesday last week. The family was also handed R590 – 00 in cash.

Mutale Fire Station Divisional Officer Mmbangiseni Tshivhase explained why they decided to help the Mashaba family. "The family is situated next to our Fire Station and we could see the hardships they encounter on a daily basis. Our responsibility is not limited to helping community members during emergencies, but we also have a role to play in community development. We held a staff meeting and discussed the family’s problems and we all agreed that we had to do something about it. We all came to an agreement that we would fork out something from our pockets to make sure that we rescue the family from their daily hardships. This does not necessarily mean that we have lots of money, but we want to encourage other community members that it is good to go beyond one’s official duties, in order to build the community. This is just a beginning because we are still going to do more to fight poverty in our communities."

The beneficiary, Ms Margaret Mashaba, a single unemployed parent looking after three kids, did not have enough words to pass her gratitude to members of the Mutale Fire Station. "I thought their duty was to fight fires, but they have turned over a new leaf because they are now displaying what humanity is all about. I couldn’t believe it when I learnt that they were going to assist us because I thought the whole world had deserted us. It is not easy to find people with soft hearts like these in today’s world where people only care for their own needs. Thank you a thousand times."

Mr Alex Nemakonde, Community Services Manager of the Vhembe District Municipality said what staff members of the Mutale Fire Station did, is a clear example of what community upliftment is all about. "They have set a benchmark to challenge other community members about the escalating poverty bug in our communities. They went even an extra mile by going beyond their job descriptions to show the whole world that we can easily defeat poverty and hunger through cooperation. They deserve applause because they are transforming the Fire Services to a vehicle that is used to build the indigent society, which has been destroyed by poverty. I therefore encourage other Fire Stations to follow suite because Mutale has already set a historic pace."