The elderly are often a forgotten and neglected group of people, with not many taking notice or care of them.
It was for this reason that Musa Nxumalo, owner of Proactive Concepts, a marketing and branding company based in Durban, created a project called Gogo and Mkhulu Portraits.
It is a specialised service aimed at capturing photos of the elderly from across the country to reclaim their dignity and have good memories of them. Nxumalo and his team are this week’s unsung heroes.
Sisa Magula from Kwamashu, who is the project manager, said they witnessed first-hand how the elderly were neglected, a major shift from how things used to be in the “olden days”.
“We then decided to come up with this project late last year, thanks to the company’s owner, Musa Nxumalo, who initiated the idea, and the whole team jumped on it.
“The idea was to go around the city, find the elderly people, spend time with them, and use the resources we have to capture beautiful moments we’d have with them, which is something they hardly get to experience.
“As a starter, we collaborated with Muthande Society for the Aged, an old-age home based in Lamontville, and KwaMashu Christian Care Centre, where we’d visit them and capture great memories with the elders. And not only that, but we’d also shoot videos of them (elders) voicing out their views about how things are in the society. When we are done, we give the pictures to them and to organisations they live under to keep in their archives,” said Magula.
He said they wished to expand to other places across the province and eventually venture countrywide. But with limited resources, it was a challenge for him and a team of eight young people who specialise in photography, presenting and videography.
“We would like for stakeholders and corporate companies to sponsor us so we can venture to other places and grow our philanthropic project.
“We aim to reach more places and be a trusted brand for storytelling. Be trusted for production and for this project. The bigger vision is to compile an encyclopaedia with pictures of and words of wisdom from these elders we’ve been capturing moments of, which we hope will help young people grasp useful knowledge from them,” said Magula.
Smangele Hlongwane, marketing officer for Muthande Society for the Aged, said they were very excited when they were approached by Proactive Concepts at the beginning of the year.
“We were happy to allow them to come to our premises. They came to us in April and spent almost the whole day taking pictures and videos for memories.
“We were very excited about their initiative because they helped the elders, who we keep at our premises, unwind, especially because they live here for various reasons. This helped them forget about their issues; they felt important and rejoiced,” said Hlongwane.
She said they would play the photos and videos on the TV for the elderly to view them, and it made them feel special, looking at themselves all dressed up and posing for the camera.
“This has also helped us create short stories on our social media, using clips of them sharing their views about different issues affecting the society,” she said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE