Laurette Marais, Queen of Africa 2020 and founder of Moyo Africa Empire, and Tina Dos Santos, owner of Bodylicious, both from Alberton, have embarked on a journey of changing lives one step at a time.
Working closely together, Laurette and Tina have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in the lives of others.
Their partnership lead them to J29 Community Care to assist them in caring for orphaned children in Katlehong.
In January 2020 Laurette partnered with J29 Community Care to become their ambassador and she approached Tina to lend a helping hand.
They had previously worked together in other fund-raising efforts for organisations that assisted vulnerable women and children, and where looking for a project with greater needs that they could partner up with in 2020.
To aid J29 Community Care, Laurette and Tina are asking the Alberton community for assistance in collecting non-perishable food items and toiletries that will go towards their monthly food parcels that J29 has been providing for the past seven years.
Tina has offered up Bodylicious as a drop-off point for anyone who wants to donate towards their effort.
From there it will be delivered to the child-headed homes and house mothers who are taking care of orphans in the greater Ekurhuleni Region 9.
Tina also works closely with the Teddy Bear Foundation, where she collected over 290 teddy bears of which 70 were donated to J29 Community Care Centre.
More about J29
J29 Community Care is a non-profit organisation that gives vulnerable children hope and a future by providing ongoing practical support to assist them with their development.
Facilitated by Claudia Dippenaar, who is assisted by her team of social workers and volunteers, J29’s heart is to uplift and empower orphaned children.
These children don’t have a choice in their circumstances, or the support of parents who can provide the care, love and financial support they desperately need in their developmental years.
“No child at 10 years old should be left to live alone,” said Claudia.
“One of our child-headed homes consists of a 17-year-old raising his younger siblings while trying to finish high school and find some way of providing food for them every day.”
J29 Community Care was founded in 2006 by a group of concerned and like-minded people, and in 2008, the non-profit organisation embarked on a project called Home Alone, to support and care for orphaned children.
Through the Home Alone Project they care for about 60 granny-headed or child-headed households.
Not only do they provide monthly food parcels for orphans who live in the child-headed or granny-headed homes, but they also assist in getting the children birth certificates and offer skills training programs at their quickspace which is located on the premises of Chivirikani Primary School in Sonwabo.
J29 supports nine gogos (grannies) who foster orphans.
These gogos are older ladies in the community that take in these orphans and raise them like a little family, in either their tiny RDP house or shack.7
One of the gogos has 13 children living in her 45m² RDP house.
Laurette and Tina recently visited a couple of these gogos in their homes to see how they live and what they can do to help.
During their visit Tina met a gogo who collects plastic bottles to recycle, enabling her to earn some extra money to feed her orphans.
This gogo’s efforts for her orphans touched Tina’s heart and she generously offered to collect plastics for the gogo to aid her.
WATCH: Video detailing more about the centre and its services
A helping hand
Tina has put up a wheelie bin outside her beauty salon for people to donate anything from non-perishable foods, toiletries, pre-loved toys, or clothing.
“Your junk is someone else’s treasure as I always say, and all the donations we collect will be given to J29 Community Care,” Tina said.
Laurette and Tina are also trying to raise funds for these gogos so that their households can accommodate the exact number of orphaned children.
“At this stage, one of the grannies shelters six children who all share one bed,” she said.
Laurette and Tina are appealing to the community for any donations to help make a difference to J29 Community Care as they work to alleviate the needs of orphans, one community at a time.
For any form of donations contact Tina Dos Santos on 082 579 7076.
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