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Noel Kaseke donates grocceries to Ekuphumuleni Old People’s Home

Ricky Zililo Senior Sports Reporter
“BLESSED is the hand that giveth…,” so reads part of the scripture and former national team utility player Noel Kaseke is living by the Bible, extending his generosity to the less privileged.
The former Highlanders FC player, arguably the best right back since the turn of the century at the Bulawayo giants, now plies his trade in the United Arab Emirates and as he approaches his last years as a football player, he has decided to improve the lives of the needy.

The dreadlocked Kaseke spoke at length about his “calling” to serve the needy which started six years ago when he saw six kids from Old Pumula selling wares late at night when he was having coffee at Haefelis in Bulawayo. Then, Kaseke was playing in Cyprus.

For the last 72 months, Kaseke has been consistently supplying his six adopted kids with groceries as well as paying for their school fees.
Just what brought Kaseke to come out of the shell and speak about his generosity?

“You know God works in mysterious ways my brother and having been born in a Christian family, I value the importance of helping the needy. I have a soft spot for kids and as such I try by all means to better a child’s life. I have been assisting six kids from Old Pumula for the last six years quietly but now I have decided to do it on a bigger scale after establishing a trust.

“The name of the trust is Noah’s Ark and what I want to do is to plant a small seed that will germinate, blossom and make a difference. God has blessed me and I believe that He did so for a purpose and wants me to do the same and help these kids so that they have food, go to school as well as find time to play with others instead of fending for their families,” Kaseke said.

He admits that life is not rosy at all and he cannot help every underprivileged child but putting a smile on some of the needy kids soothes his soul.

Kaseke is grateful to his wife Blessing Pande who has been supportive and embraced the idea of giving a helping hand to the needy. He also praises his mother Elizabeth, a teacher at Convent Primary School whom he describes as his pillar.

“There is an old adage that behind every successful man there is a woman and my wife has been my pillar of strength and also understands the importance of giving. We went to a local children’s home (Queen Elizabeth) where we gave them some things that they needed and Noah’s Ark will continue assisting the home and also identified Ekuphumuleni Geriatriac Home as one of the beneficiaries and we will continue helping out.

“The six kids that I have been helping for the past six years will continue benefiting from my benevolence and I have also added two more families that I will assist,” he said.

Kaseke has a vision of seeing Noah’s Ark growing beyond Bulawayo.
“Noah’s Ark wants to give hope to people. There is also the issue of human and animal conflict and as such the trust will seek to create awareness especially in Matabeleland North where poaching is rampant. There are kids who lost their fathers or breadwinners to animal attacks like elephants trampling on them and these are some of the people that we want to help.

“My father used to work for the National Railways of Zimbabwe and we stayed in Dete for some time and when I heard of poachers lacing water with cyanide it pained me lots because I love wildlife. We are going to create awareness programmes as a trust so that we educate kids about the importance of these wild animals,” said Kaseke, a former Marist Brothers (Dete) pupil.

Noah’s Ark will use football tournaments in Matabeleland North as a medium for their awareness campaign. Already, they have roped in Clement Mukwasi of Shearwater in Victoria Falls to co-ordinate some of Noah’s Ark anti-poaching activities as well as compile a register for needy children whose parents were killed by animals.

Other members of the trust are Tavengwa Hara, Thabani Lovemore Dube, Lameck George and Tendai Kaseke.
“Rhinos are being wiped out and the same will happen to elephants if we do not take up initiatives to educate our young ones. Government tries to create awareness and help out but we the people are the government and have to complement what our leaders are doing to preserve nature.

“What kids and communities must know is that poaching is bad and affects the economy. Imagine, an elephant is poisoned and its tusk is cut but what happens to the skin? There is a lot that an elephant skin can do like bags, shoes and other products thereby creating employment but if poachers leave that elephant without being skinned for more than 24 hours, the skin ceases to be useful and revenue is lost. That poisoned elephant is eaten by hyenas and other scavengers that go on to die — its got such a huge effect on the cosystem. So, we have to educate the kids and the trust will look for experts from in and outside the country to educate locals about protecting wildlife,” said Kaseke.

He believes that by God’s grace, he will be able to court sponsors to support the trust which will leave a lasting legacy in Zimbabwe.
“I have friends in Brazil, Australia and Europe as well as in the UAE who I believe will help in making this trust a success. We are open even to locals who can assist with any kind of donation and we assure them that everything will be channelled to charity organisations.

“By God’s grace, Noah’s Ark will make a difference in people’s lives,” said Kaseke.