‘Together we can fight hunger’ – Masuku

This woman who has become a mother figure to over 60 children, shares that she started the centre about six years ago after seeing young people who were struggling right before her eyes.

“My child always use to come with a friend whose family was battling to make ends meet, so I would end up making lunch boxes for both of them daily.

“As I looked deeper into the community, I saw that this was not the only child going through this ordeal, so that prompted the birth of the centre,” she explains.

Led by the desire to help, Masuku start providing children with food solely from her own pocket, however, as the demand grew and more children walked through her gates she realised she needed more help.

“I got to a point where I needed to approach local business, to help me and am deeply grateful to the two local businesses who heard my cry for help and are currently helping me to supply these children with breakfast and lunch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

“I do however, wish I can get more support from other local businesses, so that I can do this daily, from Monday to Friday,” she adds.

Over the years, some of the children have identified the centre through the help of schools or during home visits and at times Masuku says they find that the situation is so bad that the family survives only on the pension money of an elderly, parents don’t work or some children are orphans.

The help the staff give these children also goes beyond providing food, as during the children’s visits they also participate in some activities such as physical education which becomes something fun for them.

“So far things are going well, however there are still times where I need to pop out my own money because the centre has grown so much that now we cater for young people from around and surrounding areas.

“This sometimes causes a shortage of meals which becomes a problem, as these children are so used to coming, that it’s heartbreaking to turn them away.

“It is for this reason that we urge more local businesses to assist in any way possible. We can help more young people between five to 14 years old as together we can fight hunger,” she says.

Masuku thanks God for the courage he has given her to continue in helping these young people and the two women she is currently working with, namely caregiver Nomsa Mahamba and cleaner Rebecca Thulo.

The centre is based at 8 Tyolweni Street, KwaThema, Vergenoeg Section and the staff operates from 7am to 7.45am and from 4pm to 5pm.

For more information on the centre contact Masuku on 078 361 1963.