Meet the Kind Teen, 15, Who Uses Her Pocket Money to Feed the Less Fortunate

• Many teenage girls choose to spend their pocket money indulging in lavish goodies but a 15 year-old girl in Gqeberha stands out as a rare breed of a teenager
• Nokutenda Chapwanya has a soft heart for the poor and the homeless who live in squalor in Gqeberha City
• Nokutenda, who is originally from Zimbabwe, describes the homeless as her friends and as a result created a Facebook page titled 'Nokutenda and her Friends in Port Elizabeth'

By Joseph Chirume - Freelance Journalist

Nokutenda gets R20 per day from her parents to spend at school but the awesome girl saves the money and buys food to feed the homeless. Her parents have joined in their daughter’s philanthropic gesture by giving her more money to buy groceries. They also use their vehicle to deliver food to the various sites where the homeless stay.

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Nokutenda lives at a flat in Gqeberha Central with her parents as well as her little brother. She is in grade 9 at Paterson High School.

The petite girl said she was touched in 2020 by the plight of a homeless man who sought refuge under the stairs of the flats where she lives. She said she feels compassionate towards the homeless people's daily struggle for food and decent accommodation.

She told Briefly News:

“I started providing food in September 2020. It was raining and very cold that time when I saw a destitute man with virtually nothing to warm himself up. He was crouched under the stairs of our flat. I gave him food and a blanket.

"I then discovered that there were so many people, including children, in his position. That situation changed my perception of the homeless people. They need our love and care because most of them are not in the streets by choice.

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“I pledged to save my pocket money and buy food for them. My parents have joined in by giving me extra money to buy more food enough to feed many people. At present I feed more than 20 people. My wish is to help more people and I hope I will get assistance from well-wishers.”

Nokutenda cooks rice, chicken, pap and stew. She also give them coffee and bread when it's cold. She feeds the destitute on weekends.

Nokutenda does not give them food only but lectures the elderly people on good behaviour. She discourages everyone from indulging in alcohol and drugs. She also dissuades them from ill-treating children.

“I always try to give children first preference because they get bullied by the adults who snatch their food and blankets away. Hence, I always discourage the adults from that behaviour. I don’t feel good knowing that I have food at home while other people around me are sleeping on empty stomachs,” said Nokutenda.

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She said she knows all the street corners in Gqeberha City where the homeless live.

She said she would like to be a businesswoman so that she gets money and the necessary resources to look after the homeless people. Her best subjects at school are natural sciences, economics and management sciences.

Harrison, 68, who did not want to mention his surname, said life on the street is awful.

He explained, “I am pleased that this little girl gives us food during weekends. This makes a huge difference because it is not easy to get a meal these hard times. People just look at us and pass without giving us anything. They take us as if we are a menace to them. I am grateful to Nokutenda, who is making our weekends awesome.”

Nokutenda’s strides in assisting the underprivileged has not gone without being noticed. The Zimbabwe Migrants Support Network, ZiMSN, appointed her their Goodwill Ambassador as a gesture of appreciation for her sterling work.

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ZiMSN represents the interests of African migrants in South Africa by providing them with legal advice, material support during strife and providing counselling to families and individuals facing social challenges.

The organisation’s Secretary General, Shelton Chiyangwa said:

“The young girl is amazing and what she does resonates with the objectives of our organisation. It is important to celebrate her great work by appointing her ZiMSN goodwill ambassador.

“I wish to encourage other girls to seriously identify their strengths and talents and tap into that to bring it into reality. Look around the world and pursue your dreams along with your academic studies and inspire many others to change the world like what Nokutenda is doing.”

BI Phakathi touches Africans after helping man walking from Jozi to Zim

Meanwhile, BI Phakathi is seen as a hero on many social media applications for helping a man who didn’t have food. The man travelled from Johannesburg on foot and was set to stop in Thohoyandou en route to Zimbabwe.

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The young man says he didn’t have food for days but he was lucky to meet the Good Samaritan who handed him many notes of cash.

South Africans and many social media users from as far as Sierra Leone in West Africa are also inspired by the generous man.

Source: Briefly News