A GROUP of fund-raisers will be flying to South Africa later this year to build a creche for orphaned children and a new building at a pre-school.
Three people from Bidfordbased children’s charity Goodwill & Growth for Africa UK (GAGA) will head out to KwaZulu- Natal in South Africa to build the £8,000 (approximately R123,300) building and creche in a sanctuary called Ithembalihle, which is Zulu for place of hope.
The team will be led by GAGA’s director Charlie Homer, deputy mayor of Evesham, who will travel with two trustees, Marissa Alverez Wolke and Alan Wolstencroft.
The trio will link up with Spirit of Africa, a children’s charity based in Northumberland which rescues children from the streets.
Mr Homer said: “We still have some way to go to reach our share of the funding but plans are advancing for the project.
“Ithembalihle is run by Thandiwe and her husband Shipho within the rural community of Sankontshe to support people infected by HIV and AIDS and those living in poverty.”
Mr Homer first met Thandiwe in 2009 and found she was was struggling to cope with the needs of her community. She had already exhausted her own resources, so GAGA started to pay the monthly running costs and improve the facilities.
He added: “Ithembalihle started from very humble beginnings. Thandiwe and her husband moved to a community called Sankontshe in 2008 and built a small house for themselves and their family, as well as a small church to service the surrounding community. Before they knew it, they had taken in a number of orphaned and vulnerable children, and were feeding and supporting other destitute community members on a daily basis. The pre-school at Ithembalihle was started a year ago. Most children have to walk three to four kilometres to get to school and this has resulted in many not attending, so the school is a vital asset.”
