Through a local missionary, we recently came across a community just down the road from us called Dwalini. Like most communities, there are many orphans there who need care. About 15 ladies have been doing home visits since 1999. They call themselves Sizanani Home Based Care. Sizanani literally means to help each other and that’s certainly what these ladies do, with a smile on their face. I asked one of the ladies what the best part of visiting people was. Her answer? That they got to work as a team, doing it together.
That’s exactly what I saw when I went and visited them last week. Working together. Through God’s provision and a very generous donor, Sizanani Home Based Care has acquired a house to use as a care center for the kids. As these ladies have visited patients over the last 10 years, they have seen many mommys and daddys die, leaving behind their young kids. As their dying wish, there’s been a plea to take care of the young children left behind. How can you say no to this? You can’t.
So these ladies look after about 50 kids. But with no actual building, they must just make regular visits to the kid’s homes, checking to make sure they have food, clothing, and a safe place to live. With this new building, they will be able to look after the kids all in one spot. Please pray for these ladies as they help to get the building suitable for a care center. We recently sent a team out to help clean, paint, rake, and take care of some electrical issues. There is still lots more to do, but it’s exciting to see progress happening and to see a place where kids will be able to experience all the elements that go into a “home.”
By Jen Price
In April of this year, a missionary named Kyle Quarterson asked Ten Thousand Homes to get involved in a local community called Dwaleni. Kyle has been building relationships in Dwaleni with an organization called Sizanani Home Based Care. Sizanani Home Based Care started in 1999 and currently consists of fifteen dedicated female volunteers. Earlier this year, Kyle helped Sizanani HBC purchase a house in Dwaleni. The volunteers have a vision for the house to some day be a hospice center.
Jeremy, Michael, Carla, and myself went to Dwaleni a few times to build relationships with the volunteers. We asked them to draw a map of Dwaleni and give us an assessment/insight into their community. They told us the biggest challenges they face as caregivers center around poverty, HIV/AIDS, alcohol abuse, unemployment, and sexual abuse of children. We learned there aren’t any other organizations working with orphans and vulnerable children in Dwaleni. They ladies told us they’d like to start a feeding program every Thursday afternoon for the orphans and vulnerable children.
The past few months we’ve sent visiting teams to help fix up the house recently purchased in Dwaleni. Currently, Kyle and the volunteers want the house to be a youth center. In June, we met with Kyle again to inform him Ten Thousand Homes would help Sizanani HBC establish a feeding program at the new house every Thursday. The feeding program began on July 16th and about 40 children attended. Since then the number of children coming keeps growing. This past week 193 children were present!
A local pastor named Augustine comes every week to teach the children a bible lesson during the feeding program. We are excited about working in Dwaleni and the new relationships we are building.
By Keri Dodge
Photos by Jen Price