Linda Twala
Building a legacy of altruism

Linda Twala at home in Alexandra © Thom Pierce 2023
Linda Twala is the opposite of what he calls a “what’s in it for me” person.
When you walk into his house it’s clearly a place of work. People are milling around outside, sorting through donated items and big bowls of onions and potatoes sit on the floor inside. Upstairs is his living space which is crammed full of photographs, newspaper cuttings, awards and memorabilia; a museum of artefacts documenting a lifetime of dedicated work in the community.
Linda is the grandson of John Hey Ka Nxele, one of the first residents of Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg that is now home to over one million people in a single square mile. Many of its residents have no work, little food and inadequate accommodation.
Linda has lived in Alexandra all of his life.
In the 1960s a woman by the name of Rosie Tshabalala would often come by the house, asking for food. Inspired by his own mother’s generosity, he decided to help her. She was so grateful to him that she would wave her stick and say “one day I want you to be the person who buries me”.
In 1967 she passed away and Linda honoured her request by organising for her to be taken from the government mortuary and given a dignified burial at the church across the road from his house. This, he says, is how it all began.
“From that time I continued to help the destitute…I was born to serve, not to destruct”
Over the last 55 years, more and more people have come to Linda for help. He is unable to say no, it is deeply instilled in him to help people. He is passionate about Alexandra and passionate about the people that live there. His work has covered everything from feeding schemes to building houses and planting thousands of trees; providing support to single mothers, people with disabilities and over five thousand senior citizens.
It’s not that there is any grand plan, he just tries to help everyone that comes to him asking for support. And with that has earned himself legendary status, which explains the photographs with Madiba, the relationship with Oprah Winfrey and the Mahatma Gandhi award.
This year Linda wants to raise enough money to pay for 600 young children from Alexandra to have a helicopter ride, to inspire them to achieve more, and to let them know that they can be pilots, doctors and lawyers.
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