Happy Women’s Day: Lerato Ncube – From being blessed to being a blessing
In honour of Women’s Day, we’ll be highlighting amazing women who have made an impact in our communities. Board member Lerato Ncube is one such woman.
696 million people in the world live off $1.90 a day or less according to the World Bank. Many of these people are in SA. In an era where the world is so connected, it’s easy to compare ourselves to people in a better position than ourselves. It can be hard at times to remember how small our problems are compared to the problems of those in greater need.
This is a dilemma that Lerato Ncube has been addressing in her own life. She has been volunteering in different capacities for HOPE worldwide SA since 2016
From spending Saturday mornings teaching children in our programs to helping run Christmas parties for them, Lerato has always shown a heart for children born into difficult circumstances.
She explains, “I enjoyed teaching the grade 6’s and 7’s. I liked giving nicknames to the students. For instance, I called one of the students ‘Headboy’. I said this because I could see his leadership qualities. I would ask Headboy to assist me with certain questions. Each week, I would see him get more confident and he would lead. I was so proud of him because I knew he was smart. I would speak to him about getting himself to focus more on school and he would tell me not to worry because he was focused.
“Serving has had an impact on me. It’s allowed me to be grateful first of all, as well as content, for all the blessings that God has given me. It’s also helped me to realize the different lives and realities out there besides my own.” She said.
One day, in Saturday class, he came, hugged me, and said that he had been doing really well in school and had gotten a 90% average. He also told me that he was selected to be a prefect! I was so proud of him and though I may not see him become a Head boy, I do think he will become great if he continues to focus on his strength.”
Most recently, Lerato joined our SHIELD program, where a small group of people come together to personally provide for and take care of ‘at risk’ families with young children. When we spoke to her, she explained how she could see all the things that she took for granted and how her involvement with the SHIELD program made her grateful for what she had. “Just a hug, a joke… Those little things that I take for granted really impact other peoples’ lives. I don’t see them as big things, but to them, it’s big. It’s impacted my life as well. I see that I am blessed. It’s humbled me as well to see that there is more out there to give”, she told us.
The SHIELD program does so much for what we at HOPE worldwide SA are trying to accomplish, from helping families get sponsored and kids get proper schooling. For that, we want to thank Lerato and everyone that contributes to SHIELD and makes what we do possible; without you, we would not be able to do the amount that we do today. With your continued support, we are able to continue helping those in need.
