Celebrating with the less fortunate

Cosmo City resident Seth Tshidi celebrated his birthday by giving back to the community and spending the day at the Vukuzenzele crèche in Kya Sand Informal settlements.

“Instead of going out and spending money on myself, I thought [I should] share what I have with the less fortunate,” explained Tshidi.

Tshidi brought clothes he had collected from his colleagues and friends and books donated by Bargain Books in Northgate Shopping Centre. “Children who come to the crèche are from underprivileged homes. I wanted them to have warm clothes to wear for the winter and hope the books will come in handy at the crèche,” said Tshidi.

Nonhlanhla Mosebi the manager of Vukuzenzele crèche said, “We are blessed and thankful to have Tshidi and his team help us. We appreciate people who go out of their way to make a difference in our community.” The manager explained that most parents cannot afford to pay school fees for their children and they recruit most of those families.

“We have recruited most of the children and their families. Apart from running the crèche we have an Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme where we help the children with food, clothes and any other assistance at home,” explained Mosebi.

She also added that they run a community outreach programme, “We run Jozi iHlomile, a community based outreach programme which offers educational support and assists those who are sick mainly from HIV/AIDS or Tuberculosis. We meet with the community members at least once a week and see where and how we can help them live a better life.”

Mosebi said she would like social workers come in regularly to counsel the children as part of their programme. “Although we get help from the social services department, we urge other people in the community to follow in Tshidi’s footsteps and help in any way they can. We would also appreciate more resources, transport for the sick and sponsorships with the programmes we run,” concluded Mosebi.

Details: Vukuzenzele Crèche 083 470 2445.