Khulisa means, “to nurture” in isiZulu. And plenty of nurturing has been going on across South Africa over the past 16 years in Khulisa Social Solutions, a multi-layered intervention and upliftment programme with the slogan ‘reinventing lives’. Khulisa Social Solutions work with a variety of role-players including corporations, NGOs and the government to co-ordinate and facilitate projects that engage poverty alleviation, crime reduction, victim empowerment, enterprise development and community upliftment.
Khulisa Social Solutions have nominated Philisiwe Hadebe with great pride as a nominee for the Midlands Community Achiever Awards. The winner will be announced at a gala dinner on November 26, 2014. Ms Hadebe is the founder and principle of the Sifisokuhle Crèche situated in Papkuilsfontein. Ms Hadebe opened the door of her crèche in 2012 to address the need for an Early Childhood Development Centre in her otherwise impoverished and under-resourced community.
At first Ms Hadebe used her own funds and home to address the need with a humble beginning. However, by joining hands with the people within the community and effectively mobilising the community, it enabled her to find a larger venue for the crèche. Currently the crèche schools 22 children, consisting of both infants as well as toddlers all below the age of five and employs four staff members. Through her efforts the crèche is now registered, and will start a feeding scheme in the near future. Over the past three years the crèche has become a beacon of hope in the community, as the crèche is also regularly acts as a venue for luncheon clubs and support for the aged.
The idea first sparked after Ms Hadebe realised there was no facility in the area and the children were either walking around on the street unsupervised or staying at home without being stimulated intellectually. The crèche is registered as an NGO since April 2010. The crèche currently has a committee made up of nine members. The nominee also started a luncheon club, when the crèche was moved to the community hall in August 2012 with the consent of the Municipal Manager, as there was no longer enough space to operate from her lounge.
Ms Hadebe is described as a hard-working and selfless role model in her community. Ms Hadebe has been with the Khulisa Social Solutions project for two years and eight months. Khulisa donated 15 tables and 30 chairs to the crèche. They have also donated toys, educational charts and a carpet. Khulisa conducts rock and rhyme at the crèche and trained the teacher and principal. When Ms Hadebe isn’t teaching the little ones at her crèche she empowers the needy, vulnerable and elderly people within her community. She organised a feeding scheme for elderly, unemployed women and assisted with helping an elderly lady get her house roofed.
She was instrumental in finding a roof for an old woman’s house, the old woman managed to build up the walls of her house but could not afford a roof. Ms Hadebe assisted by raising the funds to fit the roof, and came into contact with an individual who paid for the roof and the fitting.
She is also a member of a women’s league in Estcourt, where she plays an important role in assisting people apply for Identity Documents and then assists them to go through the process of getting social grants. Philisiwe is a member of a committee that plans to open a primary school at Papkuilsfontein. Negotiations are in the advanced stage to open a primary school at Papkuilsfontein, the committee are awaiting their EMIS number that will allow them to become operational in January 2015.
The crèche is the stepping stone towards the primary school project, the crèche will be part of the school and this is the reason that Ms Hadebe is working tirelessly towards reaching the goal of the school opening in January 2015.
Ms Hadebe works hard at developing the skills and knowledge of the children according to their developmental milestones, She emphasises numeracy and literacy skills from a young age and instils the importance of values and respect while they are still at a tender age. The Estcourt and Midlands News wishes Mrs Hadebe all the best may she in many ways exceed the challenging requirements and expectations for the award while flying the Estcourt flag high.
