HIGH rates of unemployment, poverty and health issues are among the many challenges surrounding the Embo community.
Embo is a small valley in the 1000 Hills just outside Hillcrest. Pastor Leonard Gcabashe is one of the pillars of the community who decided to implement change.
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He built a clinic, an orphanage and a care home in the heart of the valley with the help of donors and individuals.
Following the AIDS pandemic, Gcabashe shared his vision to assist sick people with his CEO from the company he was employed at.
“As a pastor, helping people and not discriminating comes naturally to me as in those days, being HIV positive came with stigma for most people.”
Gcabashe was the only man in a group which consist of nine women who was trained to be a caregiver with the help of Paul Alcock who paid for their training.
“We would go into people’s houses. For male patients, they felt comfortable being bathed by another man,” he said.
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The need to have a clinic grew as the nearest clinic was in Botha’s Hill and people had to have a taxi fare to reach it. With the help of Medic Assist International and Pastor Leonard Stone from Maranatha Community Church, the clinic and a care home was built in 2013, hence the name Philakade Health Post and Care Home.
Vision comes alive
After caring for many HIV/AIDS infected patients, Gcabashe found many children were left to care for themselves after the passing of their parents and there was a need for a home where they would be taken care of.
“In 2009, the Philakade Orphanage was started with the help from Pastor Stone. At the moment we have 11 children ranging from the age of two to 17 years, the orphanage can accommodate 24 but currently it impossible due to lack of funding,” explained Gcabashe.
The orphanage ran from his home along with a creche, “We were advised by social workers to separate the creche and the orphanage so that the children can feel at home and that is when we appealed for help to build the orphanage,” he said.
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The care home is a home to 40 people around Durban from different backgrounds.
“Others are abandoned, we have people with disability and senior citizens,” explained Gcabashe.
He said he was grateful to work hand in hand with Mary-Ann Carpenter, a volunteer and a professional nurse who helps fundraise and get sponsors for the home and the orphanage.
“We do not get any funding, we rely on donation and sponsors. I wish to thank everyone who has been supporting us, we do appreciate it.”
Like most organisation, Philakade Heath Post and Care Home as well as the orphanage have been affected due to the financial crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Anyone who wish to assist can contact Gcabashe on 082 774 1687.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
