Help Queens with a Purpose impact Joburg south
As a result of her personal experience, Thembi has a passion to make a difference in the lives of those living with disabilities.
Queens with a Purpose founded by Thembi Maesela is a registered NPO on a mission to provide support to the underprivileged intellectually and physically disabled children in South Africa by hosting events and involving them as valuable members of our community.
Who is Thembi Maesela?
Thembi is originally from the East Rand but has relocated to Liefde en Vrede, Johannesburg south.
She is married and has three children. She is the CEO and founder of Marumo Green Projects.
She is also a public relations practitioner by profession and currently studying for her communication science honours degree.
Maesela has always advocated for people with disabilities hence she founded the organisation in 2019.
Growing up Thembi was the only daughter among her three brothers. She said: “My parents named me ‘Thembi’ which translates to ‘promise or hope’, because they had hope that as their only daughter, I would go to school, be educated and be successful but I fell pregnant at the end of my matric year.”
The following year Thembi found out she failed her matric.
“This hurt my parents deeply because of the hope they had for me. However, I was determined to make myself and them proud,” she highlighted.
During this time she was very discouraged because all her friends had passed matric and she was unemployed, pregnant and a disappointment to her parents.
“I thank God because I strongly believe that everything happens for a reason. That pregnancy and experience made me who I am today,” said Thembi.
After giving birth to her son, she worked as a factory cleaner.
Soon after, Thembi met her husband. “He was pursuing his second master’s degree and I did not even have a matric but luckily, God brings the right people into your life, at the right time. I am grateful to have met my husband,” she emphasised.
Her husband assisted her with furthering her education by completing her matric and degree. At the age of 21-years-old, Thembi bought her own house which she gave to her son.
“He is my first-born and at the age of six, I found out he had a learning disability.”
She added: “When I took him to a psychologist, they said he is fine and can wash the dishes at a restaurant or be a gardener. I did not want that for my son because as parents we only want the best for our children.”
Despite the challenges, Thembi is a proud mother and does not regret anything.
Her son, 24 years old now, is employed at her company and is doing extremely well.
“I have no regrets. At times our past and our disappointments are there for a reason. I think if I had passed my matric and everything went smoothly in my life, I would not been here – helping children and parents.”
Moving with purpose
The goal of Queens with a Purpose is to change the lives of underprivileged children within the community by hosting various events to get more individuals involved in building a better community, especially for those living with disabilities.
Her experience as a mother of a child with a learning disability has caused Thembi to help other parents like her and empower marginalised children.
She initially started hosting sports events for children with disabilities in Limpopo where she saw a need in the community. Thembi now seeks to bring this annual event and other projects to the south of Johannesburg – to help children with disabilities and their parents.
Additionally under the umbrella of Queens with a Purpose, there is Faces of Queens with a Purpose which is a pageant to empower women from all walks of life.
Through the NPO, Thembi assists children with learning disabilities to go to university and supports learning centres with school uniforms and food parcels.
Annually, since 2019, Thembi has hosted a sports event to commemorate the International Day for Persons with Disabilities. This event is fun-filled with various sports such as egg- and bean bag races where the participants win trophies and other goodies.
Thembi hopes to host an event for the Johannesburg south community to empower, uplift and encourage those with disabilities.
“I started in Limpopo and my next goal is to host in Johannesburg. The ultimate goal is for this project to spread to all nine provinces,” she highlighted.
For more information or to get involved contact 013 007 1123 / 072 526 6308 or email info@queenswithpurpose.org.za
