Mandela Day inspiration at Bhekimpelo créche

There’s a saying : “It takes a village to raise a child.” Thembi Skhakhane has made this her motto. About 14 years ago she realised there was a need for the children of her community to have a safe place where they could learn and play instead of being on the streets unsupervised. She established Bhekimpelo Créche in 2002. Today she takes care of 70 children and has four teachers to help her. Bhekimpelo still faces many challenges and the biggest one is not having electricity. Despite this hurdle Thembi still manages to provide cooked meals for the children everyday.

Mandela Day is the day on which people around the world can contribute to making the world a better place by identifying where they can make a difference in their communities. Sheet Street and People Investing in Needs of Communities (PINC) decided to join forces and make Bhekimpelo their project this Mandela Day.

When the Sheet Street team and Lisa Campos, co-founder of PINC, arrived at Bhekimpelo they were greeted with happy waves and smiles from the children. The aim of the day was to make the little ones feel special, a feeling that they don’t often experience. After the formalities they dived right into the fun activities. Spending quality time with the children was not the only order of the day, the kids got their faces painted and received wonderful party packs.

Donated food parcels, clothing and toys were distributed.  Thembi expressed her sincere gratitude for everything that been done for the children.

“Having Sheet Street here has made a huge difference as they have already donated clothes and curtains for us. Apart from their donation they have also spent time with our children. We know that someone cares and that the conditions will continue improving because of their interest in our plight.”

The crèche relies solely on donations.

Mandela Day provides many organisations, businesses and people a unique opportunity to engage in less-privileged communities and create a South African legacy Madiba would have been proud of. This is why Sheet Street encourages other businesses to participate in positive contributions towards charity organisations in and around South Africa beyond the call of duty on Mandela Day.

You can also follow Sheet Street on Twitter , Facebook, and Instagram.

If you would like to get involved and give back please get hold of Lisa Smart-Campos from PINC.

Mobile: 073 953 6771 Email: lisa@pinc.org.za Fax: 0866132974 www.pinc.org.za