From One Meal a Day, to a Full Stomach Every Night
Kefuoe (22) reads a Bible story to her four-year-old daughter, Sinovuyo, when she puts her to bed at night. During the day, she helps her practice saying the alphabet, and to learn how to write numbers. This is thanks to the help she receives from HOPE worldwide SA’s SHIELD programme, and sponsors from the Johannesburg Church of Christ
The programme links families in need with local sponsors for a period of one year. At long last, this single mother can now take care of her child as she’d liked to do, even though they live in an orphanage.
“I now have less stress, because my child can go to bed with a full stomach, and has clothes to wear. As long as she has these important things covered, I’m happy, and I now have time to play and read with her,” she says.
Her current situation differs a lot from what it was not too long ago. Kefuoe has lived in an orphanage in the Westrand of Johannesburg, since the age of six, after they separated her from her four siblings. She learned to survive on one meal a day, which was all the orphanage could provide. Going to school was not an option, as she doesn’t have a birth certificate. When she became a parent, Kefuoe discovered she couldn’t secure a child grant for her. That’s because her daughter doesn’t have a birth certificate either. It was devastating.
When the sponsors came into their lives, they lacked basic necessities. “My heart used to hurt because I couldn’t get a grant. I blamed myself for getting pregnant at such a young age, because I couldn’t take care of my child. Knowing there was nothing I could do, I couldn’t even bear to look at her,” she shares.
Hope for the future
Her sponsors provide the family with grocery vouchers every month, as well as clothes and shoes. As a result, Kefuoe feels less stressed, which has allowed her to form a bond with her daughter. And, thanks to the parenting training she has received from the HOPEww team she’s learning how to meet Sinovuyo’s needs.
Kefuoe says it’s a blessing to receive help. “My child is happy now that she has what she needs,” she adds.
Now, this mom can dream about her daughter going to school, something she could not do. “I want a bright future for Sinovuyo. She’s my only hope to get an education.”
There is still one nagging worry for Kefuoe. Until she gets an identity document, and her daughter a birth certificate, she can’t get a job, and her daughter can’t go to preschool. We are currently looking into ways to rectify this, and she remains hopeful that it will change in the future. Until then, Kefuoe enjoys the daily blessing of having enough food on the table.
