On a journey to make a difference

DEDICATED TO TAKE UP THE PLIGHT OF THE POOR AND UPLIFTING COMMUNITIES

- BrianSokutu

He may be soft-spoken but, for Serkan Ergul, no crisis is insurmountable.

From distributing a food to the poorest of the poor in an informal settlement near Marlboro, north of Johannesburg, to distributing blankets to needy communities in the West Rand's Westbury, Ergul thrives in times of an emergency.

First to visit and take up the plight of Sarah Hlongwane destitute woman living with 12 children in a makeshift one room structure in a heavily congested part of the Maphonyane informal settlement near Marlboro Gardens, north of Joburg - Ergul, director of non-profit organisation Time to Care Trust (TTC), remarks: "Something has to be done.

"This is extremely moving to see a terrible reality of how a single mother and grandmother is struggling to survive.

"This situation really touched my heart and gave me a renewed feeling of purpose and resolve." Hlongwane's plight - a microcosm of the 55.5% of the South African population living in poverty, representing the country's is what high inequality levels Ergul grapples with on a daily basis.

Reflecting on some anecdotes on people he has helped in times of need, Ergul says: "There was a woman from Tembisa who desperately needed groceries because there was no food at home.