One of my good friends and neighbours in Thembalethu is a wonderful woman that I will call Mrs. Hope. Mrs. Hope is a social worker and helps children as best as she can within the often backwards South African social services structure, limited resources, and a gigantic work load. Through Mrs. Hope I have seen a very real side of Thembalethu in which I would like to share with you.
Twenty minutes away from Thembalethu is the lovely city of George, George is a small city with lush gardens, fancy houses and clean streets. Like all places, some people struggle in George but it is easy to see that many people are also thriving. Many areas boast mansions, security guards and luxury cars. There are electric fences and tall security gates. Somehow with all this wealth just twenty minutes away the reality is very different for many people.
Today Mrs. Hope called me and in her voice I could hear deep sadness and a sense of desperation. "Sandise, I need your help, you are the first person I have called because I am not sure who else can help us". Mrs. Hope does not ask for much so I knew that it must be serious. Today a family arrived at her office doorstep, three young boys, age 15, 8 and six. These boys have just become orphans, they have lost both their mother and now their father, it was not discussed how but being that one in three black women in South Africa now have HIV and one in five men, it is most likely that their parents have died of HIV/AIDS. Now this small family of three is left with no family members and the household will be headed by this shy 15 year old boy who now stands before me. Mrs. Hope brought them to my house today, all three were shy and looked scared, but also I could see a sense of relief on their faces. They have no money, and no food, which is why Mrs. Hope brought them to me.
This little family left my house with a gigantic bag of mealie meal, rice, sugar, beans, lentils and oranges due to your generosity. As many people know, I personally do not have very much money, but through the donations that have come to me by way of The Themba Development Project I have been able to give emergency relief to some of Thembalethu most vulnerable members. Your donations have given this small family hope, or Themba in the Xhosa language. Although my charity is small we have given a huge amount of hope to this community and united we shall stand because in times of emergency the community knows that you and I are here to get them through these difficult days.
Thank you to everyone who made this miracle possible,
Catherine Robar
Founding Director
The Themba Development Project
http://www.thembaproject.org/
Donate using canadahelps.org type "Themba" to find our charity.
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