Thembalethu Beauty Care students prepare for a career in beauty.
Unemployment is an albatross around the neck of young South Africans today. One in three adults younger than 34 do not have jobs. That’s why the Thembalethu Life Skills and Economic Empowerment Centre strives to do more to help our youthful clients.
Based in the Jo’burg inner city, the centre aims to help young men and women earn an income through the provision of skills training.
The initiative is paying off – and many Thembalethu students have gone on to start their own small businesses or find employment.
Happy Mosia is one of these fortunate people. Happy attended an eight-week Beauty Care training course at Thembalethu. She was a dedicated student and was passionate about perfecting her beauty care and make-up techniques.
At the end of her training in 2012, Happy stayed on for two years as a course facilitator. Today, she’s employed by a well-known cosmetic store in the upmarket Eastgate Mall.
Two other Thembalethu students, Asanda Booi and Bonisiwe Khumalo, were also trained to be course facilitators. They’re now working at a beauty spa in Fourways.
These ladies have thrown the albatross of unemployment off their necks – and find great satisfaction in fluffing up the feathers of their clients.
Thembalethu also offers a basic computer and business skills course; cashier training; security guard training; and a life skills course that covers substance abuse, communication, parenting, conflict resolution and personal hygiene.
Please click here to support Thembalethu. Thank you!
David Nhlapo spent his childhood at Othandweni . . . and now owns his own law firm.
Phineas Phiti is the generous-hearted man at the helm of Othandweni Family Care Centre. His priority is to offer nurturing residential care to orphaned and vulnerable children.
These children are disadvantaged in many, often devastating ways. They’ve witnessed sickness, death, abuse and poverty. But Phineas encourages the children to hope despite their hardships.
Phineas and his team provide the children with a safe home, a healthy diet, medical care, clothing and education. They take on a parental role – and try to lay a solid foundation for productive adult lives.
David Nhlapo is one of hundreds of children who have grown up under the fatherly eye of Phineas.
David was born in Soweto and was placed at Othandweni in 2002, at the age of 11. From the get-go, David was determined to make the most of his time at Othandweni. He participated in choir, debating, drama, poetry, gumboot dancing and soccer. He was sociable and positive; and was crowned Mr Spring in 2007 and 2009.
“I viewed living in Othandweni as an opportunity. Othandweni took on all the parental responsibilities of raising a child. That allowed me to just be a child. Life at the centre was easy,” David recalls.
David matriculated in 2008 and obtained his Bachelor of Law (LLB) in 2016. He opened his own practice, Nhlapo Attorneys, in 2019.
David is thankful to donors for giving him a happy childhood; and the opportunity to live a meaningful life.
“My life is an example of what your donations can do. You help raise children who want to contribute to society. Given my circumstances as a child, I could not have come this far without the help of Othandweni and donors. Your giving amounts to hope for future generations,” David says.
Please click here to support Othandweni. Thank you!
A home away from home
The Masibambisane centre is a vital support system to orphaned and vulnerable children from Eldorado Park and the informal areas of Kliptown, Mandela Square and Slovo Park.
These communities are bitterly poor – and children often find themselves left on the fringes of society.
But Masibambisane helps weave these children back into the fabric of life. The centre bridges the gaps that their families cannot; by providing psychosocial services, healthy meals, early childhood development, day care and after care.
It also runs daily and weekend programmes where children can take part in academic and recreational activities, maths and reading tuition, teenage support groups and holiday clubs.
These programmes help keep 220 children safe and off the streets.
One young lady who benefited from Masibambisane’s suite of services is Happy Ndalene.
Happy started attending Masibambisane regularly from 2001 and spent many childhood hours at the centre. She enjoyed comforts that she did not get at home: a cooked lunch, homework support, life skills, counselling and recreational activities.
And when Happy was approaching the end of her school career, Masibambisane helped her with university and National Student Financial Aid Scheme applications, exam preparations, scholastic materials and motivational letters.
The hard work paid off and Happy obtained a fee exemption and was accepted to study law at North-West University. She’s already in her fourth-year and is living an independent, fulfilling life. It’s quite incredible how far she has come.
We thank donors for supporting Masibambisane and helping our youth lay the foundations for success.
Please click here to support Masibambisane. Thank you!
Zakehele is standing tall
There comes a time in most families when the kids move out. Othandweni Family Care Centre is no different! And just like any good parents, we don’t want our children to leave uneducated and unprepared for life.
We want to raise children to be independent and strong! We want them to become teachers, electricians, entrepreneurs and lawyers . . . capable of supporting their families and contributing to society.
And we could tell from his early days, that Zakehele Zikhaza was going to be an entrepreneur.
Zakehele spent his whole childhood with us. He arrived at Othandweni nursery as a baby and moved into the family cottages when he was older. He benefited from a range of services such as therapeutic support and life skills.
Zakehele was very good at soccer and played on Othandweni’s team. He was also good at spotting an opportunity! As a schoolboy, he would buy sweets with his pocket money and sell them on to other children at a profit.
So, after school, it made sense for him to complete a one-year business practice learnership. Today, we’re proud to say that Zakehele is self-employed.
He runs a colorful tuck shop out of a converted container that he rents from Othandweni. The tuck shop sits on the side of the road and is perfectly positioned to catch passing pedestrians.
Thanks to Zakehele’s entrepreneurial spirit – and donor support throughout his childhood –he’s now standing comfortably on his own two feet.
Zakehele moved out of Othandweni in 2007 at the age of 20. He’s hasn’t left us though. He visits Phineas regularly and coaches our soccer team. He also donates to Othandweni when he can. He wants to see more children realize their potential . . . and like him, to stand on their own feet.
Please click here to make a donation to support Othandweni. Thank you!
