Nestled in a little street called Uitsig Road in Durban North, a house with the words “Granny Griff’s” painted on the right-hand side of the little gate, stands unassuming, blending into the suburbs that surround it.
Sometime around 10am to 3pm on Tuesdays all the way through to Friday, one could probably spot a group of golden agers waddling through the entrance of Granny Griff’s Sugar Shack, all in anticipation for the commencement of ‘The Soul Club’. “The Soul Club is a little old-fashioned meeting place and haven for cancer and stroke patients, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and MS sufferers, special needs children and adults, people in wheelchairs and their care-givers as well as pensioners with free membership to them all,” explains owner of Granny Griff’s and founder of The Soul Club, Helene Griffiths. It all started when Griffiths’s husband, Wally, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Griffiths, who back then was the owner and editor of a local community newspaper, had no option but to sell off her paper, however, the seedling of a new venture sprouted within. According to Griffiths, the idea for this outreach programme evolved from tending to her ill husband for five years. In November 2015, after the unfortunate passing of Wally, Griffiths was prompted to get the ball rolling and thus Granny Griff’s was born.
It was a difficult journey for Griffiths, but it was through determination and a calling to serve the community that kept her passion for Granny Griff’s alive. Griffiths searched for a whole two years before finding the perfect place to house her project. “Towards the middle of 2019, a house in Uitsig Road, Durban North, belonging to Golden Hours School, became available. Unfortunately the house stood vacant for more than a month and was badly vandalised.” According to Griffiths, all of the electrical cables were removed including washbasins, toilets and baths were all broken to pieces to remove the copper piping. It was through the payout of a policy when Griffiths was diagnosed with cancer in 2019, which enabled her to pay for most of the refurbishments. With the help of volunteers and good Samaritans of the community, Granny Griff’s blossomed into the safe haven it’s admired for today.
Gabisile Mbambo, a dear friend of Griffiths for almost 30 years, said that the people of The Soul Club are special and unique as each of them spread love and kindness to one another. “They are also very supportive, which is why seeing them happy regardless of their different conditions is a big accomplishment for us. The Soul Club had made me realise how important it is to socialise with people and to cherish one another besides our differences.” Be it socialising with the members or cooking up some of Granny Griff’s famous jaffles, nothing brings Mbambo more joy than the camaraderie and safe nature of The Soul Club. “In the short space of a year Gabi, who knew nothing of jaffles, became the queen jaffels maker,” remarked Griffiths fondly.
Debbie Clarke, a carer and companion to many elderly folks accompanies many interesting people to the club, such as 98-year-old Barbara Mack and 88-year-old Vera van der Merwe who knitted many beanies for the club’s recent beanie drive. There was also Pauline Goldberg who reached the ripe old age of 100 but sadly passed away recently. Goldberg was the oldest surviving learner from Durban Girls’ College in her time. “When you enter Granny Griff’s it’s like you have been taken back in time. There’s a knitting club, a bridge club and everyone chats to everybody,” said Clarke. A place where one can come in any attire, be it in pyjamas or a ‘bad hair day’, there is always a safe haven at Granny Griff’s.
