From A Single Suit To This: The breathtaking SFS reception area — a true mark of how far the legacy has come
By Simon Makgoga
Selemela Funeral Services (SFS) is launching in grand style and you are invited to witness history.
Line the route as bikers roar and a fleet of branded, classy SFS cars parade from Transfer in Block L straight to Soutpan, where a brand-new chapel will be officially opened on site.
This is more than a launch.
Solid. Stunning. Timeless. The SFS building and its paving are built to stand for generations
It is a legacy in motion.
It all began with Masechaba Podumo Mother of the Nation.
Born and raised in Ikageng, Potchefstroom, she was a woman with a caring touch who championed her community.
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She founded the Ikageng Women’s Club (IWC), a burial society built on dignity and unity.
She even bought her brother Apa, Isaac Selemela, a suit identical to the one society members wore to monthly meetings.
When she passed, he stood at her funeral in that very suit, only to see her members dressed the same.
In that moment, it hit him: she had been grooming him to take over.
“For me, it is important to honour her memory and take what she laid to greater heights,” says Selemela.
And he has.
IWC has since given rise to more than three societies, including Vukani in Tembisa.
And from Selemela Multi-Waste Recycling (SLM), SFS was born.
The former police instructor turned business mogul renowned for championing the disadvantaged and Non-Profit Organisations says the mission goes far beyond funerals.
“The mission is not only to provide a dignified send-off, but to create job opportunities for locals, particularly the youth, which this country desperately needs.”
Today, a dedicated team of operations managers, communications specialists, marketers, drivers and cleaners stands behind him.
“My initiatives would have been nothing without them. Everything was solidly formed in our series of meetings.
I still believe in their passion and loyalty in prioritising the needs of every client,” he says.
10 October will be nothing short of groundbreaking.
Gospel powerhouse and motivator Bishop Jonas Masotla a man with a lion-like, soul-stirring roar will lift spirits with heavenly praise.
Traditional and pantsula dancers will set the newly paved grounds ablaze with dust-kicking creativity.
Members of the media, especially print media which has given SFS invaluable coverage in the past, will capture the historic moment and continue profiling this rising empire.
Broadcast media will bring every moment live via outside broadcast as the streets come alive with the parade.
And no one will go home hungry.
IWC and Vukani caterers have assured a feast two cows and two sheep on the braai that will have everyone licking their fingers.
Masechaba once bought her brother Apa a single suit for meetings.
Today, Apa is building an empire for generations a mortuary and a chapel now stand as proof.
She may be no more, but wherever she is, she is smiling, because her brother continued what she started.
Be in Soutpan on 10 October.
Witness how a suit became a legacy.
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