People of Pennington: How social entrepreneurship is giving new purpose to retirees

Gill Young has turned her home industries and restaurant business into a hub of hope, especially for retired people and those with minimal means. 

Pennington is a small town on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. It is a retirement town, with mostly elderly residents. Young moved to the town with her husband, Andy Young, to retire more than six years ago.

Her shop, Live.love.laugh, is full of art, colourful tie-dye scarves, racks of clothes and baked goods. There’s a sectioned-off seating area for the restaurant, which has a curated vibe that feels homely and lets you know you are on the coast, including paintings of glamorous beach goers. The seating flows to the outside where patrons can feel the sea breeze.

On this particular day, there is a sip and paint session and a small group is enjoying their drink of choice while creating art on A4 canvases.

Although there are a few young people here, most are older, into their sixties and upwards.

“There is an event here almost every day, and it’s so good for elderly people to have something to look forward to, something to dress up for, maybe put a little lipstick on for the ladies. A lot of people in this town are retired and live alone because their children are overseas or in the city because of work opportunities,” a patron said.

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Antoinette Labuschagne is a former teacher who retired three years ago. She said she attended the weekly crochet club.

“I knew no one in Pennington because I taught in Durban and I was a little depressed. One day I came in for a cup of coffee when this place was a small coffee shop, in a corner of the shopping centre.

“Gill invited me to the Monday crochet club, and one thing led to another, and she asked me if I wanted to sell the rusks I used to make in the Friday market on a very small scale. Now this is my means of income,” said Labuschagne.

She says Young had helped multiple people find purpose and community after retirement.

“Gill does a lot for the community — if someone needs food or clothes Gill will be on Facebook trying to get assistance for that person,” Labuschagne said.

Social entrepreneurship

Some of the people Young has had an impact on are a pair of sisters, Jacolette Crous and Lizette Hunt, who now own a micro bakery, Jacobina Bakery.

“If we have a product that is in excess, we donate it to Gill to get it to the right people. Like right now, she helps the lifeguards who have been without an income for the past two months with food for three days in the week. She also assists Elders Voice, where elderly people who depend on grants live,” Lizette said.

Young has a system called a hanging coffee that helps people who may not be able to afford a coffee and a slice of cake. Those who can afford to can leave extra money, say R100, for the next patron who might not be able to. This mostly goes to residents of Elders Voice.

Hunt said she had been retrenched and was forced into retirement.

“This shop and the market on Fridays have helped me a lot because we sell our goods here, and we are now training people so they can bake and sell for themselves. It really is true that the more you give, the more you get.” 

The two sisters pointed out that they may not have felt encouraged to open their business if Young hadn’t shared her shop as a platform to make money. This was echoed by some of the other residents who create products such as tie-dye scarves to sell in the shop. Young takes 20% from the sales.

Helping those in need

Val Ball, who runs an assisted living and frail care old age home in Pennington, The Vales, said the impact of elderly people having a sense of community, such as that provided by Young’s establishment, could “help elderly people be in their home a little longer. Having community, activities to do and people who check in on you does this.

“If you usually come for a game of cards, and you don’t show up, Gill will call and check up if you are okay or need anything. This is a crucial thing that has been lost in so many communities. I love Pennington because of that. It’s small, we don’t even have a petrol station or our own bank. We live under trees,” Ball said.

Young often sends cake to The Vales and is involved in donation drives for the community. 

She considers herself a coordinator of goodwill. She said the reason her efforts worked was that people were always willing to donate or come in and help whoever was in need.

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Elders Voice has about 165 people who live in what used to be a camp, and who rely on South African Social Security Agency pensions. Young’s business is one of a couple that regularly contribute in whatever way is necessary to make their stay more comfortable.

“Because they depend on grants, they can run out of supplies such as toilet paper. We assist with some of the needs that are basic but end up being considered luxuries.

“The community will always donate and help where they can. I just ask or organise events to garner money to help the Elder’s Voice. There are organisations such as the Umdoni Park Golf Club that donate their proceeds from a selected Sunday to Elder’s Voice,” Young said

This help was even more crucial right now as the people who ran Elder’s Voice were trying to help multiple elders who had not received their money due to Sassa’s current review process. 

Building community

Young says the shop has also provided a platform for community members who want to help, but don’t know where to start, to contribute in whichever way they can. 

Young’s husband was in hospitality and she travelled a lot. Sometimes she would not know how to connect with people. This helped her come up with ideas of how to help people connect and build community.

“There are a lot of good, generous people in Pennington. I see it every day… It makes me proud to have Live.love.laugh, where the community knows where to help the less fortunate and also where to come for a chat, especially if new in the area. Pennington is the place to be,” said Young. DM