April 2021.

Noupoort resident, Belinda Maliti, has been selected as a community change activist and has received funding and support to make a difference in the lives of the most vulnerable community members, who are beneficiaries or residents of the Inan Inkosi Old Age Home.

Inan Inkosi Old Age Home is close to Belinda Maliti’s heart. She tells how this project aims to ensure that the local elderly residents and people living with HIV are kept safe and provided with nutritious meals.

“I hope the work we are doing will safely care for the elderly people who stay alone in their homes in Noupoort because they are vulnerable and targets of violent crime,” said Belinda Maliti, Founder and Manager of Inan Inkosi Old Age Home.

Inan Inkosi cares for 30 community members, who are predominantly elderly women, in addition to ten with disabilities and one youth. The programme provides food parcels and elderly disposable nappies, in addition to essential medication and other necessities.

Inan Inkosi is one of a cohort of grantees, comprising SMME’s, non-profit companies and a non-profit organisation to receive business funding as part of Noupoort Wind Farm’s socio-economic and enterprise development programme.

In the past two months alone, a total of ten grantees have undergone the Financial Management training. This training enables the grantees to understand cash flow and expenditure statements; analyse financial statements and project funding needs, amongst other key business skills. The programme views monitoring and evaluation as compulsory as it provides crucial evidence with regards to the growth and performance of the business. This is important because the aim is to support businesses and organisations that will be economically feasible and sustainable, with the intention of generating viable jobs or economic growth opportunities.

“Research shows that by mobilising communities to gain control over their lives is far more impactful and effective. This is why our wind farm is supportive and an enabler of community development programmes that focus on initiatives that are wanted and needed in the community,” explained Sandisiwe Mntonintshi, Economic Development Manager of Noupoort Wind Farm which provides funding for this programme, and is intent on driving positive change in this rural Northern Cape town.