A big thank you

In the Sandton Chronicle article, A touching story, Week ending 11 November, the charitable aspirations of a Morningside-based personal trainer were explained.

Thabiso Mpeke ran the Soweto Marathon to raise money for the orphans who helped care for his grandmother when she was ill before she passed away. He was eternally grateful to them for their efforts and also worked with Sandton residents to give the orphans Christmas gifts.

He said, “In memory of Jolane Mpeke, my grandmother, I would like to thank each and every one of you for supporting this cause. I ran the 21km Old Mutual Soweto Marathon on the 6 November and did it in 01:56:55 hours as verified by race timekeepers. You can view the results [on the] Championship Africa website.”

Read also Soweto Marathon back with a bang

He also expressed his gratitude to the community who supported him. “Thanks to your overwhelming generosity and kindness, we raised R24 450 and also received gifts of clothing, shoes, stationery, food, jewellery and numerous other items for the church and the children I was raising funds for.”

He explained that these acts of charity ensured that each orphan received a Christmas hamper of clothes, shoes and stationery, too.

“I am truly humbled by the outpouring of goodwill and am eternally grateful for the support.

“On Saturday, 19 November, I travelled to Botshabelo to hand over the Christmas hampers to the children and clothing and foodstuffs for the church. Your generosity also allowed me to buy a gift for the woman my grandmother was living with, who provided palliative care for her until her passing. There were screams of excitement and joy when they received their gifts.”

He said that this touching day was very emotional as he thanked loved-ones for the love and support that they gave his grandmother before her passing.

“As advised, the money raised is going to be used to provide for their [the orphans] financial needs and I am currently in discussions with their respective schools in order to settle current outstanding school fees, forthcoming years’ school fees, new school uniforms and any other stationery needs that they may have.”

orphans made special signs to show their gratitude which read, “We went from having no parents to having lots of parents. Thank you.”

He concluded that his campaign and determination to make a difference to the lives of others would not have been possible without the support of the community members around him.

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