Pam Tosh's mission: Serving the community in the spirit of Mandela

IndiPam founder Pam Tosh says it’s important to serve the community every day, in the image of former president Nelson Mandela.

As the country marks Mandela Day on Friday, July 18 — when South Africans are encouraged to give 67 minutes of their time to charitable causes in honour of the late president — the Southfield resident, who runs her non-profit alone, says serving others shouldn’t be limited to just one day a year.

Ms Tosh, 50, a yoga teacher from Southfield, began her community work five years ago and officially registered her non-profit, the IndiPam Spiritual Legacy Foundation, two years ago.

She previously lived in Rondebosch East.

She does outreach work among the homeless at Lansdowne train station and with residents of the Flamingo Heights informal settlement. Even after moving to Southfield, she continued serving those communities. ("Yoga teacher helps Lansdowne poor," Southern Suburbs Tatler, January 24, 2024)

“The biggest challenge is asking private donors or appealing on social media for the supplies we need,” she said.

Ms Tosh offers counselling, youth mentoring, and first aid to anyone who needs it. She also provides over-the-counter medicines that people can’t afford and tries to deliver food and second-hand clothing to those in need.

She also provides dog food to the many dogs in Flamingo Heights and those homeless living in the Lansdowne train station area.

While Ms Tosh runs her organisation on her own, she sometimes receives help from her mother and daughter.

“What keeps me going is the constant need in those areas, which has only grown since the lockdown,” she said.

Ms Tosh says many people need homes, but also need to heal themselves. “Though I can’t do it alone,” she added.

Her organisation aims to offer more education by sharing transformational stories in schools and advising on volunteer programmes in schools and communities.

“All of that adds value in different ways,” she said. “It’s not just about what is handed out on the streets, but about the bigger picture.”

While visiting the homeless near Lansdowne train station on Friday, July 11, Vickey Titus from Upington shared her story.

She has been living in an informal structure there for over seven years. Previously employed as a domestic worker, Ms Titus is currently unemployed.

“I left my home to find work in a different area and help my relatives back home,” she said. Ms Titus added that she wants to earn money before deciding to return home.

She expressed her gratitude to Pam Tosh, saying, “We could not have asked for better assistance. She helps me a lot with medication.”

At Flamingo Heights informal settlement, 34-year-old Monique Jacobs, originally from Hanover Park, has lived there for 15 years. She previously worked as a domestic worker but is currently unemployed.

“I want everybody to look ‘inside of Pam’,” she said.

“She does amazing work helping the community.”

Ms Jacobs added that Ms Tosh often goes beyond her duties, even working to prevent dog fights and maintain peace among residents.

With Mandela Day approaching, Ms Tosh and her mother, Trudy, recalled meeting the former president when he visited a shoe store in Rondebosch in 1998.

I met him and shook his hand. It was wonderful to see him putting on his shoes like an ordinary person. We need to remember that whether someone is an icon or a person on the street, we are all just people, and we are required to be guardians of the earth,” she said.

For more information, WhatsApp Ms Tosh at 083 475 2281, email pamelatosh@gmail.com, or find IndiPam on Facebook and Instagram.