Our Lady of the Lourds Catholic Church in Sakhile has become a second home to many poor, destitute children.  This home-based care centre, with its 16 volunteers, has been providing meals to sixty children since the beginning of July this year.

The feeding scheme, headed by Ms Joan Nhlapo and assisted by Ms Queen Kubheka, supplies free meals every day from Monday to Friday after school.  The project is funded by the South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), which in turn is financed by a global fund looking after the welfare of needy children.

The centre also provides school uniforms to those in need of assistance and so far 10 children have benefited, while 40 others received blankets to stave off the winter cold. The centre also assists schools in curriculum activities, such as contributing towards school outings.  One such outing, towards which the centre contributed R1 800, was Lindilanga Primary School’s trip to Newcastle on 6 August.

Father Councillor Njoku, the head of the Catholic Church in Sakhile, says that he is humbled and honoured to be of service to the many children within the community who desperately need all the assistance they can get. DM