Botshabelo bids farewell to director

Children’s charity organisation Botshabelo based in Blue Hills bids farewell to their managing director Michelle Hinrichsen.

Hinrichsen, who has been a mainstay and driving force at Botshabelo, has been involved with the organisation for much of her life.

She volunteered at the babies’ home as a teenager and soon discovered her passion for social justice. She said, “When I was close to completing my degree, I met with another fundraiser in the field and realised that fundraising would be a wonderful fit for me… at the time I was volunteering with Botshabelo doing administrative tasks like donor thank you’s and so forth, and it was then that Botshabelo was looking for a fundraiser.

“They offered me the job when I was young and very inexperienced but dedicated and passionate. I started as the fundraiser in September 2012.” She worked tirelessly with the organisation and became managing director in 2018, seeing their growth over the years. “Botshabelo has, in the last decade, changed considerably with the addition of the Early Childhood Development programmes, as well as a full-blown fundraising department, professional second-hand shop and a 30-plus staff contingency. “For me, the importance of Botshabelo is that it is what the name calls it to be – a place of refuge.

Botshabelo offers refuge for babies left to die, or abandoned, given up, discarded.” Hinrichsen has decided to leave as her family had received opportunities in new business ventures which would allow her time with her young family but would keep in close contact with the organisation.

She talked about the numerous accomplishments and milestones that Botshabelo had achieved. “It’s difficult to pin it down to one milestone – it might have to be the hundreds of small milestones I have witnessed. Children being adopted, kids finding families better than we could have hoped for. It’s knowing about children in senior primary school now who are thriving because of the preschool foundation they received at UrbanKids.”

She added that navigating 2020 was also an accomplishment she marvelled at. “For the Botshabelo team to have tackled such a crazy year with grace and generosity, we were able to keep doing our everyday work without a hitch, just a lot of extra stress. But beyond that we were able to give food to over 10 000 individuals, and we raised over a million rand through our relief fund to help and feed families in need.”

She concluded that her time at Botshabelo had taught her one critical thing and that was South Africa was the most generous nation in the world. “To see a nation rally around those in need is quite a humbling experience.

“I am humbled by the opportunity that Botshabelo gave me as a young woman, and I am grateful for a community that encouraged me along the way. I am honoured to have worked alongside the most incredible people, both colleagues and donors.”

Details: www.botshabelo.co.za