The eNkuthazweni Disabled Rehabilitation Project staff have come together to help support their pupils’ families. Board chairperson Hosana Nkontso recently led home visits to get to know the children and their families better.
Seeing first-hand the challenges the families faced, the school governing body (SGB) reached out to the Department of Social Development (DSD) which provided funds to buy items for food parcels. The SGB members distributed these to 16 needy families living with children with disabilities. Each parcel contained essential items: 10kg flour, 10kg mielie meal, 10kg rice, 2litre sunflower oil, 1 packet of Huggies, 2kg of sugar, classic soup pack, 1kg salt, 3kg potatoes, 3kg carrots, 3kg onions, 1 cabbage, 24pack of beef stock, 6pack of milk, 400grams of PeanutButter, 500grams of butter, 100teabags, 750ml of sunlight liquid dish soap, dry yeast, pilchard, instant porridge, 9 toilet rolls, 2litre of sour milk and sanitary towels. Altogether, they were worth over R20,000.
“We cannot underestimate parents’ strength and sacrifices. We attend to the children for only a minority of the time but the parents are the ones who need our support most, they have made it their lives mission to take care of their children to the best of their ability, having had to let go of their former lives and live for their children, this is just a token of appreciation and a helping hand from us” he said.
Staff member and qualified auxiliary worker Thembakazi Thandani said, “I’ve been working here since 2008, and there have been many times when I wanted to leave and give up, working with no income but just making sure the children are safe and have what they need,” she said. “But I stayed for the children. Today, I’m happy that we can also help the [families] of these children.”
The parents were visibly moved by the gesture. Thandani added, “I hope we can get some help from the community members.”
The project, which supports children with disabilities, has been a beacon of hope for many families in the community.
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, September 25, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
