I first encountered Siyakhathala We Care whilst volunteering in South Africa 5 years ago. It was an amazing experience, I met some awesome people, but also heard some shocking stories. It was the extremes of kindness and cruelty so vowed to continue to help where I could. They are now raising some funds for their own premises.

Having these permanent roots is an important step in the evolution of SIyakhathala We Care (SWC). They started 15 years ago looking after a handful of children from portakabins in corner of the local school. This has served them well but they now provide services for 250+ children across the townships and we are now at the point we have simply out grown what was only provided as a temporary measure.

I wish that what they do was not needed, I wish that all children had safe homes to call their own and I wish they could spend their time being who they are, children. Sadly this is not always the case and their service is needed to support, their service is needed to guide and their service is often the only safe haven and beacon of hope for these children to access the fundamentals of life. SWC feed and clothe and they teach the children to be valued members of the community.

They have had some success such as Latie Mtana Jr, who had a far from smooth upbringing. Her Grandmother was her prime caregiver, and they survived on social grant funding. Latie was one of the Siyakhathala beneficiaries where she received social, educational, financial and emotional support. The tutoring programs supported her studies and the holiday programs were a first opportunity to get out of the townships and away from potential harm. Latie passed her Matric in 2017 and then her Bachelor of Nursing degree, she now works for in the Khayelitsha District Hospital. There are dozens of other success stories, but sadly due to space restrictions, there are also dozens of others they have not been able to support.

The location they have identified is 2,100 square meters, which aside from increasing their ability to cater for more children will also increase the services on offer and their ability to operate 24/7. At present their operation is constrained to school hours and limited activities. The new location will allow them to support working families with pre and post school care, it will also allow them to offer overnight and weekend care. They also aim to build their own sustainable food store (with foods grown on site) and a charity shop full of arts and crafts from the township. The aim is a sustainable operation and one that can make a lasting impact on their community.

Siyakhathala We Care is a registered Non-Profit organization (NPO: 068-260) founded in May of 2009 which works in the township of Khayelitsha, Western Cape, South Africa.

Siyakhathala improves the lives of orphaned children in the township, as well as victims of neglect, violence, and abuse, by providing a safe haven for at-risk children who would otherwise end up in troubling circumstances. They also educate and run summer camps to give the kids, what can be, the first trip out of the townships.

Everyone deserves a safe space and that's what this fundraiser is for, to purchase their own location so they can move out of from temporary space portakabins in a local school.

Give what you can, best wishes.

Please check out our website: - https://www.siyakhathala.com/

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