Joy was written all over the faces of more than 200 youngsters and adults who eke out a living on the streets of the Mthatha CBD, when a local church showered them with a string of gifts at a Christmas party yesterday.
The gifts included new clothes, teddy bears, brainteasers, toys, schoolbags and food parcels. A mining company, Anglo Gold Ashanti, was joined by other businesses and individuals to sponsor the event. Other beneficiaries were children from Bethany Orphanage in Ikwezi township.
The party, in its third year, took place at the government garage storage facility in Owen Street. It is the brainchild of philanthropist, radio personality, Arrive Alive spokesman and founder of Ibandla Lasemthini Evangelical Movement, Tshepo Machaea.
The number of children who are found on the streets increases during school holidays with many coming from impoverished, abusive and broken families. The adults depend on piecemeal jobs to put bread on the table.
“Some of the children have run away from home because they don't have parents and live with relatives, who overburden them and make them feel like slaves.
“It is us as parents that are guilty for their current circumstances, through ill-treatment and abuse. Very few of them have run away from discipline or come from well-to-do families.
He said the youngest child was a seven-year-old boy from an informal settlement surrounding the rural town, while another child came from as far as 88km away in Idutywa.
Machaea said many children living on the streets were taking their own lives because they felt unwanted. A centre where the children would be accommodated and their talents developed was in the pipeline. “What is important in life is to pass your blessings to the next person,” he said.
Siyamkela Mehlo, 15, who dropped out of school in Grade 11, said his life had changed for the better. “I used to walk barefoot but now I have a new pair of shoes.”
Ibandla Lasemthini Evangelical Ministries also runs a daily feeding scheme for the unemployed job-seekers. Church member Bongiwe Qotoyi said they were not “spoiling” the children as they were also reuniting them with their families.
OR Tambo District mayor Nomakhosazana Meth donated food parcels to 30 needy families and wished the residents of her district a happy and a safer festive season. “We share the plight of these children,” she said.
Meanwhile in East London, DA ward councillors gave away Christmas gifts to more than 200 children in Southernwood, Lennox Park, Milner Estate, Braelyn and Pefferville.
According to DA MP Kevin Mileham some of the presents – sweets and toys – were facilitated by sponsors, although councillor Patricia Williams also contributed from her own pocket fter the respective areas were “excluded from the Christmas gifts donated by the Motsepe Foundation”.
Early gifts bring smiles to the faces of youth
The gifts included new clothes, teddy bears, brainteasers, toys, schoolbags and food parcels. A mining company, Anglo Gold Ashanti, was joined by other businesses and individuals to sponsor the event. Other beneficiaries were children from Bethany Orphanage in Ikwezi township.
The party, in its third year, took place at the government garage storage facility in Owen Street. It is the brainchild of philanthropist, radio personality, Arrive Alive spokesman and founder of Ibandla Lasemthini Evangelical Movement, Tshepo Machaea.
The number of children who are found on the streets increases during school holidays with many coming from impoverished, abusive and broken families. The adults depend on piecemeal jobs to put bread on the table.
“Some of the children have run away from home because they don't have parents and live with relatives, who overburden them and make them feel like slaves.
“It is us as parents that are guilty for their current circumstances, through ill-treatment and abuse. Very few of them have run away from discipline or come from well-to-do families.
He said the youngest child was a seven-year-old boy from an informal settlement surrounding the rural town, while another child came from as far as 88km away in Idutywa.
Machaea said many children living on the streets were taking their own lives because they felt unwanted. A centre where the children would be accommodated and their talents developed was in the pipeline. “What is important in life is to pass your blessings to the next person,” he said.
Siyamkela Mehlo, 15, who dropped out of school in Grade 11, said his life had changed for the better. “I used to walk barefoot but now I have a new pair of shoes.”
Ibandla Lasemthini Evangelical Ministries also runs a daily feeding scheme for the unemployed job-seekers. Church member Bongiwe Qotoyi said they were not “spoiling” the children as they were also reuniting them with their families.
OR Tambo District mayor Nomakhosazana Meth donated food parcels to 30 needy families and wished the residents of her district a happy and a safer festive season. “We share the plight of these children,” she said.
Meanwhile in East London, DA ward councillors gave away Christmas gifts to more than 200 children in Southernwood, Lennox Park, Milner Estate, Braelyn and Pefferville.
According to DA MP Kevin Mileham some of the presents – sweets and toys – were facilitated by sponsors, although councillor Patricia Williams also contributed from her own pocket fter the respective areas were “excluded from the Christmas gifts donated by the Motsepe Foundation”.
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