Serving over 700 children in need
SizaBantwana employs over 30 care workers (similar to social workers) that provide care and support services to children orphaned or affected by other harsh economic circumstances. Living in the homes of relatives or neighbors, these children have been left behind in a world of poverty by their parents who are suffering from or have died from AIDS. SizaBantwana also assists children who are living alone in child-headed households or who are terminally ill.
Care workers serve the majority of children through home-based care which includes assistance with learning household chores, cooking, help in obtaining government documentation and grants, medical care, and vocational skills. Care workers often check-in daily with children on their case load and provide connection, basic counseling, school visits, and more. SizaBantwana also serves over one hundred children at two care centers (garages of volunteers) where children can drop-in each day for an after school meal, homework help, and a safe place to play outside.
Still suffering from the effects of apartheid, these communities where the children live have limited access to or no running water or electricity. Unemployment rates are high. Violence against girls, including rape, occur at horrific rates. Teenage pregnancy, school drop out, and crime rates are also high as education is often abandoned to seek opportunities to support their families and siblings. Parenting skills are minimal, increasing the potential for neglect or abuse. Additionally, South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world. A lack of education on how the disease is spread and not knowing one’s own HIV status are just a few factors perpetuating the problem.
SizaBantwana believes that in order for these children to develop hope for the future, the possibility for a different life must be created. SizaBantwana is committed to establishing sustainable and replicable projects that can expand and serve more at-risk children, their families, and the communities where they live.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about SizaBantwana Children’s Benefit Organisation and the work they are doing in South Africa, visit their website at sizabantwana.org
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sizabantwana
SizaBantwana Childrens Benefit Organisation is a South African nonprofit that supports over 700 vulnerable children and orphans living in the deep rural townships of the Mpumalanga Province. These townships like Bushbuckridge, Marite, and Shabalala have limited resources and infrastructure and are labeled as high poverty areas, with over 85% of families living below the poverty line (R19,200 per year).
Frank Mashego, CEO of SizaBantwana, started this grassroots project in 1996 when he saw children in his community living alone, left behind after their parents died. Together with the Dutch Reformed Church of Hazyview, the organization was officially founded in 2007. The name SizaBantwana was chosen because it means “helping children.”
SizaBantwana depends on government grants and donations from local groups near Hazyview such as churches, farmers, and local businessmen. But the needs of the children are great.
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