Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust unites ‘mkhulus’ for a brighter future
A handful of grandfathers from the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust's parenting course hope to start a vegetable garden to empower their community.
A GROUP of five mkhulus (grandfathers) hope to start a large community vegetable garden in the Valley of 1000 Hills and appeal for your help.
Soka Mngadi (pictured far right) lives in KwaNyuswa with his family.
The 64-year-old worked in Durban as a landscaper and maintenance worker and retired four years ago. Over the past 14 months, Soka has been on a self-proclaimed journey of discovery, a journey which has consequently brought him much closer to both his three children and four grandchildren.
“I never thought I could learn so many new things at my age, but I have surprised myself,” said Soka, who, back in October 2017, was one of the first men to attend one of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust’s (HACT) six-week parenting skills and children’s rights training courses.
Originally intended to help gogos (grandmothers) who were struggling with the emotional burden of raising their orphaned grandchildren, HACT also opened up the training course to a handful of local grandfathers who felt they could also benefit from the course.
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In addition to helping Soka build a closer relationship with his young family members, the training course also provided him with an opportunity to connect with other local mkhulus such as himself, four of whom he now meets up with on a regular basis.
The group identified and sought permission to use a piece of land, near their homes, to start a large community vegetable garden. They hope to grow enough vegetables to feed their own families and others in need.
“We want to help feed the children in our community,” said group member, Petros Myeni. “We may be old, but we can still do something to help.”
HACT appeals to the Highway community to donate new or second-hand fencing and gardening tools would be greatly appreciated too.” If you would like to assist, contact Claire on 031 765 5866 / fundraising@hillaids.org.za
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