Many South Africans have never heard of Fietas, an area located on the edge of downtown Johannesburg just west of Braamfontein and north of Fordsburg. It was originally populated by Africans, Coloureds, Whites, Chinese, Cape Malays and Indians and covered the present day suburbs of Vrededorp, Pageview and Jan Hofmeyer. The local name “Fietas” originated as a reference to the well-known men’s outfitters – “Fitters” or “Fittas” – that traded on 14^th Street in the decades leading up to the 1970s. The area shares a similar painful history to Sophiatown, and the close-knit community and vibrant trade that Fietas became well known for ended in 1976 when the non-white residents were forcibly relocated to far away suburbs under the Group Areas Act during apartheid. Fietas once again became a multi-racial neighbourhood after the fall of apartheid, but it is a shell of it’s former self. To date not a single land claim has been settled for the area, and the suburb has degenerated into a state of neglect. The community is poor and marginalized, and homelessness, crime and drug addiction are major problems.

I visited Fietas recently to find out more about some of the people who are making a difference in supporting and uplifting the community. People who give of their time and effort to volunteer providing meals, clothing, blankets, and trauma and educational support to the elderly and children living in the area.

“This row of houses were used as one of the sets during filming of the soap opera Agter Elke Man”, Monica Joubert tells me from the small, neat living room of her home on Sonneblom Street in Jan Hofmeyer. She manages the community dining hall at the old church on 8^th Street that provides daily meals to the elderly in the community. She lives alone after her husband committed suicide a decade ago, but has found joy and meaning in life again through her volunteer work. Her son Bernard lives a few houses up the street and is a strong support. Bernard makes a living as a freelance mechanic, electrician and locksmith, but also volunteers his services as a handyman and delivery driver at the dining hall and play school run by Jan Hofmeyer Community Services.

Just down the road on 1st Street lives Irene Paul. Irene is an artisan. She supports herself through her informal sewing business, making and selling garments, cushions and bedcovers. Her other passion is cooking, and she bakes meals daily for the dining hall at Jan Hofmeyer Community Services. Her husband passed away 18 years ago, so she lives alone in a semi-detached single room that shares a bathroom with her neighbour who is a drug addict.

A little further down the road, on 2^nd Street is the play school run by Jan Hofmeyer Community Services. Nico Hattingh volunteers as the manager of the school, which provides day care to 24 disadvantaged children from the community. He used to work for South African Railways until he was forced to retire after a car accident in 1997. He has volunteered at the school ever since his retirement 21 years ago.

Rebecca Mosimanyana lives in a small backyard dwelling on 6^th Street a few roads down. She came to Johannesburg from Mahikeng three years ago with her daughter and two grandchildren to find work, as there was none at home. She still has not found formal employment, and survives off her social grant. Rebecca sleeps on the floor and her daughter and grandchildren share a single bed in their cramped living space. She volunteers daily as a cleaner at the dining hall and play school.

Just over the road from Rebecca, in the council block on Vrede Road, lives Helen Smuts. She too lives in a backyard dwelling, hers at the back of her daughter’s flatlet at Palm Court. Her son-in-law runs a small shop from the flat, and Helen survives on a small pension. She volunteers as a cook and a cleaner at the community dining hall.

Every morning, Monday to Saturday just before 7am, Catherine Mafuna leaves her flat at Cederhof, which is across the road from Palm Court. She meets Helen on Vrede Road and they walk together to the old church on 8^th Street to begin their day volunteering. “Ek het a baie klein hartjie vir ou mense en klein kinders (I have a soft spot for the elderly and children)”, says Catherine. She used to work 12 hour night shifts as a care-giver at Garden City Hospital until she retired three years ago due to pain in her legs. Since then she has volunteered at Jan Hofmeyer Community Services where she manages the library they run out of the play school and works in the kitchen at the dining hall.

The work that these people do for their community is vital and nothing short of inspirational. Work with no financial reward in mind, just work for the sake of making a contribution, work that comes from the heart. Working together in the hope of making a difference, in the hope that things can get better. These people are true nation builders. They set an example for the rest of us to follow.