Thandanani

The seeds we sow today are the harvest of tomorrow; so too the children of today are the society of the future. The way in which we treat the most downcast and least privileged amongst us is the truest test and measure of any society. It is for reasons such as these that Enshrine strives to support vital causes like Thandanani, an orphanage which is run as a non-profit organisation by a small but highly dedicated team of supporters.

The seeds we sow today are the harvest of tomorrow; so too the children of today are thesociety of the future. The way in which we treat the most downcast and least privileged amongst us is the truest test and measure of any society. It is for reasons such as these thatEnshrine strives to support vital causes like Thandanani, an orphanage which is run as a non-profit organisation by a small but highly dedicated team of supporters.

The huge heart behind Thandanani belongs to Ruth Matetisa, an inspirational woman who isdriven to bring great joy to the hearts and minds of children; and not just any children, but inparticular those who enter the playing field of life facing significant obstacles. With no formaleducation to back her, Ruth relies on tough determination and a purity of vision to improve thelives of young children who, through no fault of their own, have landed in difficult situations.She has been able to help various homes in turn, such as Banekeleng Hospice orphans, Twilighthome for boys, Nkosi Haven, Abraham Kriel Home for children and the list goes on.

Some milestones Thandanani has achieved since its inception in 2007 include:

• 90 children of the ThuThukani Centre in Ivory Park were given summer and winteruniforms
• 70 children were taken to the Elephant sanctuary on Aids Day
• 76 winter school uniforms were provided for Aids orphans
• a dough machine was bought for making bread for breakfast
• 4 Zozo huts were purchased to accommodate the children
• 60 orphan children taken to Durban on educational visit to the Sharks Board, CrockWorld and Hulletts Sugar
• 50 children visited the Lion and Rhino Park near the Hartbeespoortdam

Ruth’s vision for the future is to increase the scale of what she currently does – instead ofhelping 50 children she would like to help 100 to go on educational excursions and to providethem with a daily meal instead of twice-weekly. She would like the community to get more involved by lending a hand; either by cooking, cleaning, mending or maintaining the facilities.

At present the centre has identified the following needs for the children at the variouscentres:

• R5 000 is needed each month for the soup kitchens
• Winter school uniforms
• Stationery, blankets and toys
• Money to pay for educational excursions
• Twice-monthly soup kitchen
• Cleaning materials and soap
• 15 needy students who would love to go to university have approached Thandanani inthe hopes of securing bursaries
• It costs R500 – R600 each time to transport the food and clothes to the different homes where they are needed.
• Access to transport would make a significant difference.
• Bookkeeping or accounting services