Helping Hands – SunLanders share their stories
Sheila’s story – opening her heart and home
Sheila Dube’s father, William, died in 2019 after falling ill. In May 2020, her sister Mmaletsatsi died in hospital after giving birth to her daughter, Warona, two months premature. Dube, who has three children of her own, is now raising Warona and her brother.
Sheila Dube, 39, has learnt a valuable lesson about the importance of having funeral cover after losing her dad and her younger sister, who died shortly after giving birth, and having to carry the burden of planning two funerals less than a year apart.
"Life is unpredictable. You will never know. You plan to do something next week and something else comes up. So your plans get disrupted, so I wouldn’t blame her (Mmaletsatsi), she didn’t know. That is why I try to save. I have five kids, so I have to save for each one of them. I have started to try and add my sister's kids to my work documents because they are my kids as well. So that if anything should happen to me, at least they are covered," she continues.
Planning the funerals
For William’s funeral, she chose a simple coffin, something she knew her dad would have loved. Because her father had various funeral covers, she was able to give him the send-off he deserved. The only hurdle during the funeral was that they ran out of food because her dad was loved by so many people who came to say their goodbyes.
"My sister’s funeral was difficult because she had no policy and had just started working. I had to take contributions from the community and work. Luckily, her employers were very good people. They contributed. With that money, I was able to patch things up, but it was difficult because on some days we would have to wait and pray that someone comes and contributes," she explains.
Watch Sheila’s story here
Remember Clientèle Life offers you a free Funeral Guide with important steps to remember if a loved one passes away. The Funeral Guide is available in six different languages, includes a funeral planning check list, a Life File and Will template. All readily available for download from the Clientèle website
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