Town’s angel inspires with her generous acts of love
The good Samaritan also helped local residents acquire skills such as sewing, egg laying, and wood work.
HAZYVIEW – If we all put a little love in our hearts, this world will definitely be a better place to live in.
These are Siphiwe Mhaule’s words to live by. Walking into the home of this loving woman, affectionately known to the community as Mama Siphiwe, it is obvious that love resides there.
Last Friday we visited the selfless woman who had changed many lives in the area and still played a huge role in many people’s lives through her generosity at Hosanna Community Church and Projects.
Her journey of caring began in 2006 after she discovered local vulnerable orphans raiding rubbish bins in search of food.
As a pastor’s wife she noticed the gap between the church and the community and decided to do something remarkable to fill it.
“It broke my heart to see helpless children starving and I knew I could do something about it.
My husband and I then decided to sell our house and bought land that would be big enough to cater for the vision that I had, a vision of taking care of other people,” said Mama Siphiwe.
After buying the land which today housed one of the largest churches in the community, a kitchen to feed orphans,computer academy, a sewing class, poultry and pig farm and a big fruit and vegetable garden, she stayed in a tent with her family.
“It was not easy living in a tent with my children but my desire to help others had become a reality and God helped me to achieve it.”
On top of feeding the orphans, Mama Siphiwe’s initiative benefitted a great number of community members.
Today, she has trained people who do home-based care for HIV patients in the community and work with local clinics and
Bongani hospital. “Working with Mama has helped me as I knew nothing about caring for patients but I had passion.
She gave me all the necessary training and today I’m a professional homebased caregiver,” one of the caregivers, Nomsa Malangane tells us.
She had transferred her skills to more than 150 people and created employment for 32 people and also offered skills training like gardening and sewing and adult literacy classes to unemployed adults.
She also partnered with Londolozi Game Reserve and started Hazyview Digital learning Centre where young people and professionals like nurses and teachers learnt computer skills.
The centre caters for 135 learners with 80 of them funded by Absa.
The good Samaritan also helped local residents acquire skills such as sewing, egg laying, and wood work.
“When I started all these projects I was doing it out of my pocket and never received any funding from the government but the push I had from within my heart kept me going,” she said.
“We don’t need to wait for the government to help our fellow people but with what God has given us, let’s find ways to multiply and do acts of kindness here and there.
Currently she receives funding from the HPCA, Lottery and IDT. Clover SA has also given her the Mama Afrika title after witnessing her good work in the community.
“Mama Siphiwe is Hazyview community’s angel and her efforts to bring change in the lives of others is remarkable,” says Lucia Walker, account manager for Jenni Newman Public Relations.
