Honour for Mama Nellie
2007-10-18
David Joshua
WELL-KNOWN Paarlite, Nellie (Mama) Johnson (77), received a Premier’s Commendation Certificate from Premier Ebrahim Rasool at a gala function held in Cape Town recently.
These certificates are awarded to special individuals for contributing towards improving life in their communities. Nellie manages a children’s shelter in Mbekweni and also provides counselling to abused women.
“I’m grateful for this award and feel very pleased to know that our hard work is being recognised.
“Women in our community apparently seem to have a hard time trying to keep our family life together. They need all the help they can get,” says Johnson.
Born in Port Elizabeth in 1930 and orphaned at an early age, Nellie grew up in Paarl East with an uncle living in Rosaki Street.
She was only 16 when she got married, but due to the Group Areas Act was forced to leave Paarl East and move to Mbekweni.
She worked at Langeberg factory for many years and also as a messenger at the Paarl Girls' High School.
Later Nellie was elected as secretary for the Food and Canning Worker’s Union where she fought for the rights of the workers and for increased wages.
She’s a founder member of the Mbekweni Women’s Association and the Vukukhanye Crèche, and also started a soup kitchen at the Mbekweni Methodist Church for streetchildren and the unemployed.
“TB is a scourge in our society and I feel strongly about the fact that our people need care,” says Nellie.
Working also in this field, she was elected as chairperson of the Santa Care Group to help TB patients. This made her see the dire needs of abused women and children and she trained as part-time counsellor to help them.
She went further and now helps people at the Wellington Court to help write their cases and get interdicts against abuse.
“I’ve got a year-old-baby in my care. I’m very fond of this child, for both her parents are now in jail.
The father is serving sentence in the Eastern Cape and the mother is doing seven years here. With no other family, there is no one to take care of her,” says a caring Nellie.
“People often bring uncared for children to me, even at night,” says Nellie.
“It seems I remain the Mama of Mbekweni,” she laughs.
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