MEC visits underprivileged children
KwaThema – Last Thursday MEC of Social Development Mayathula Khoza visited the Ekazimulo Yokulunga organisation in KwaThema, which operates at the St Matthews Methodist Church.
The visit was also met with a blanket donation from a network company, which donated a number of blankets to the less privileged children.
The drop-in centre caters for 250 orphaned and vulnerable children, giving them meals every afternoon.
Founder of the organisation, Yoliswa Siwa explains the need for the centre in the community. As members of the women’s forum at the Methodist church, they took it upon themselves to step in and help the underprivileged.
“Together with other women from various churches in KwaThema, we saw fit to do our part and try and alleviate poverty that is rife in the community, especially to do something to help children who are victims.
“We alerted local churches and schools about our services so children could at least come and get meals from us on a daily basis,” she says.
Siwa also mentioned a programme that is in the pipeline for girl children, where they will be educating young girls on etiquette, teenage pregnancy, HIV/Aids and other important issues that young women should be aware of in order to make informed decisions in the future.
Also present at the drop-in centre was regional head of social development, Phumla Nkosi who said they support the organisation’s initiative and will fund them going forward.
“As a department we look into partnering with church organisations simply because they are at the forefront of identifying children who need assistance because most of these children are at churches.
“Communities relate easily with churches and that is why we want to strengthen our ties with churches so we may assist them in their quest to help the less fortunate,” adds Nkosi.
