Everyone can make a difference
Matric learners from Veritas College volunteered 67 minutes at the Nokuphila Community Centre in Selection Park on Monday in commemoration of Mandela Day.
Learners spent their time by packing potatoes for families, playing with young children, working in the vegetable garden and raking leaves in the outdoor play areas.
On Thursday, grade nine learners visited the centre and played soccer and netball against the Nokuphila teams.
Nokuphila centre manager Delores Athiemulam says all the children came together in unity.
On Friday, acts of kindness were shown by the Starfish Foundation and various other businesses.
Kirsty Hutchinson volunteered her time, along with volunteers from the other business, to rebuild shelters, paint homes and distribute blankets and food to needy families.
She says they have been involved with the Nokuphila Centre for many years and decided to donate stationery to the centre for Mandela Day.
The centre was founded in 1998 as a small-scale operation to provide fresh food to people living with HIV/AIDS.
Initially the operation was sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church in KwaThema.
Nokuphila is a non-profitable organisation that was registered at the Department of Social Development in 2001.
The centre strives to promote the holistic development of every child in their care.
Delores says this takes place through the provision of social support services that protects orphans and vulnerable children, and thus promotes sound morals and values.
“The high quality education programmes leads to improving learning outcomes, she adds.
Orphans and vulnerable children from KwaThema and surrounding communities are fed at the centre on a daily basis.
