Hearts in Hands Foodbank NPO was started by local businesswoman, Tracy Klokie, at the start of lockdown in March 2020, who felt compelled to get involved to make a difference and an impact in the community, and registered Hearts in Hands as an NPO (NPC 2020/254064/08) in May 2020.
OUR VISION AND MISSION
To mobilise our passion for educating our youth at foundation phase level and focus on sustainable refurbishments / building up of Early Childhood Development Centres in our community.
OUTREACH WORK
Over the past 5 years we have partnered with local, trusted organizations and community members and distributed hundreds of tons of food relief and supplies as well as, through close relationships developed within the community ‘on our doorstep’, we work with local orphanages and the elderly in our local community with our focus moving to sustainability of uplifting local ECD centres therein and to date have refurbished Philakahle Children’s Home, iKhwezi Creche, Asivuke Soup Kitchen and Isibukosizwe creche and Mbalenhle Creche. We are ForestHills, KZN operating from space donated by Khwezi Developments.
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ASIVUKE SOUP KITCHEN
UPLIFT, REFURB AND EXTENSION
We were introduced to Abi, who runs the Asivuke Soup Kitchen at Asivuke community centre where an after school feeding scheme children, community meetings and church services – with the ‘soup kitchen’ being established on a more regular basis by Abi as lockdown commenced in March last year.
A small centre in upper Mkholombe, Embo that helps to care for the children in the community by providing the safe-haven of aftercare as well as a feeding scheme for about 100
children. We have been supporting Asivuke Community Centre with bi-weekly donations of food and supplies as well as uniforms, stationery, toiletries and supplies for the children in the community that they serve under the Asivuke NPO banner, an organisation set up by the Taxi Association in the area who wanted to help make a difference to the many children in the surrounding community of Embo whose families just cannot afford basic necessities.
Thanks to the help of incredible sponsors and community support, we were able to build them a brand new and fully equipped kitchen and storage room complete with fridge, freezer and all electric appliances and brand-new gas cooker, brand new flushing ablution facilities as well as refurbish the entire existing infrastructure as well as supply and install JoJo tanks for rainwater harvesting.
IKHWEZI CRECHE
UPLIFT AND ADDITIONS
Driven by her passion for children, our Founder, Tracy could not not step in to help at iKhwezi Creche that they regularly donate bread and food supplies for the children. Introduced to iKhwezi Creche some years ago, our Founder, Tracy has personally supported the crèche due to her passion for the work they do with local children. iKhwezi was established by Founder, Deborah Shabalala in 2012 due to her seeing the need to provide a safe-haven for the children. Her vision to groom, love, nurture and feed the children in the community and give parents and grandparents in the community a choice to provide a second home for their children whilst at work and at the same time giving them an education, was realized when Nation Changers helped with the build of the facility on her land in Embo.
Deborah, mother of 3 boys, has a passion for teaching and child-care and has Level 4 and 5 Child minder certification, Module 1 Basic Education / Educare and currently completing her Teaching Diploma.
Currently with 79 children in her care, she runs a well- organized and clean establishment, charging parents R210- R250 per month to ensure day to day runnings of the crèche.
OUR VISION
We started with overhauling their small existing jungle gym which was alarmingly rotting and weathered, set on slopped land at the side of the crèche and we wanted to encourage more outdoor play in a safe setting by developing the big piece of land at the entrance of the crèche, to include a bike track, which we’d like to mark for ‘play-learning’ of traffic safety while they ride their bikes and a larger jungle gym so to ensure all children can have the opportunity, to climb, slide and develop their gross motor skills as well.
And secondly, although structurally sound and well maintained, one area of concern at iKhwezi was the embankment outside the kitchen facility / courtyard. Due to gradient of the land excavated at the time of build, this area suffers substantial wash away in seasons of heavy rain which long-term threatens the foundations of the classrooms in front here of and ‘ponding’ which will increase damp in the classrooms , unhealthy for the children and causing deterioration and damage over time and thank goodness we addressed this prior to 2022 April flooding and thanks to wonderful support, were able to install a Lofelstein block retaining wall system.
PHILAKAHLE CHILDREN’S HOME
UPLIFT AND ADDITIONS
Philakahle Children’s Home was established in 2008 and built by Pastor Stone. Supported and run since then by Pastor Leonard, a pillar of light and gem in the community of Embo, the vision for this home was to provide a safe-haven to abandoned and abused children in the community of Embo; to groom, love, nurture and feed these children.
Able to home more than double the 11 children aged 11 months to 18 years old currently in their care, this Home is operating at lower than regulated capacity due to lack of funding and financial assistance and receive a grant for only 1 child currently.
OUR VISION
With little to no financial support and bulk of any grants received being spent on basic needs ie. food, living and uniforms for the children, this building is structurally sound and quite well established set on a vast piece of tribal land, but in dire need of an interior uplift to deal with the issues of mould and damp, painting, fixing of ceilings, installation of extractor fans in the bathrooms, overhead fans in the bedrooms, quiet space for the older children to do their homework as well as make use of computers for the research and assignments and externally a safe and enclosed area for the younger children to play and a covered area for Sunday school and ‘family time’.
Thanks to generous community support from sponsors and donors, we were able to hand this over in May and as well as a brand-new TV installed complete with aerial for the children to enjoy some ‘together time’ with the house mothers in the evenings.
ISIBUKOSEZWE CRECHE
WHERE WE STARTED:
Isibukosezwewas established in 1996 by Cecelia Khanyilewhose love of children saw her wanting to create a safehavenof learning in the community of Mkhlomobe which is deep in the heart of the Embo Reserve. Built by World Vision by in the 90’s Isibukosezwe has 40 children, aged 0 to 5, attend daily til3.30pm. Since Cecelia’s tragic passing last year, her granddaughter Ciza (Sindi) (32) has been overseeing daily running of the crèche and would be so grateful for any assistance to uplift and secure the premise in this very remote area.
Split into the baby class and the toddler class, the R130 per month that parents, carers, gogo’s are encouraged to pay, barely covers the breakfast and lunch the children are served daily and leaves absolutely no funds for upkeep.
OUR VISION
To uplift and renovate interior and exterior.
A year and half after commencement on this project, delayed but not deterred by the riots and floods, and thanks to incredible support of the people and businesses in our local community, we handed over the project complete with refurbishing both interior and exterior, redoing the roof, installing electrics, water solutions, plumbing, full bathroom / ablution facilities, indoor play area kitted out with educational toys, books and learning charts and a fully functional brand new playground for the children’s gross motor skills development as well as installing a perimeter retaining wall Install retaining wall to prevent further water damage and subsidence of perimeter bank.
MBALENHLE CRECHE
WHERE WE STARTED:
Nestled in off a quiet rural road at the top of Embo, Ward 8, Mbalenhle was established in 2006 by Nokulunga Mkhize on landed assigned to her by Chief Mkhize after Nokulunga, now 54, saw the need for the children in the community to be not only cared for but educated too, teaching the little ones aged 0-5 years the gross and fine motor skills that form the basis of their Foundation phase learning. Over the years becoming a ‘feeder school’ to Vusimuzi and Guadu Primary in the same community in spite of the challenges they constantly face with severe lack of services in this area of the community.
Structurally sound and quite well established, Nokulunga and her small team do an incredible job of keeping the facilities and the grounds clean and tidy, with a weekly upkeep to gardens and daily rosters of ‘housekeeping’. However, lack of basic services in this area – water being the biggest issue and worsening since 2023’s flooding – as well as minimal monthly fee per child, R250 per month which most children in attendance cannot afford most of which, most of which going towards 2 meals per day the children receive, does not permit for required maintenance necessary for facilities in order to ensure longevity of the creche.
OUR VISION
To uplift and renovate interior and exterior and provide a safe haven of play learning for the little scholars that attend the creche.
How much can change in 6 months! Thanks to the phenomenal support of the people and businesses in our local community, we handed over the project the project to Nokulunga in November 2024 with complete refurbishment of both interior and exterior; redoing the roof and all ceilings and all paint work inside, upgraded the electrics and reconnecting after cable theft, installing jojos for rain water
harvesting, refurbing ablution facilities, upgraded playground area for gross motor skills development, added some seedlings for children to help ‘grow’ as they do on their journey with Mbalenhle, separated the classrooms and kitted them out with educational toys, books and learning charts aswell as installed new kitchen equipment to assist with meals they make for the little ones.
LUSANA CRECHE
WHERE WE ARE STARTING:
Nestled in off a very quiet rural road in the heart of KwaNgcolosi, Lusana Creche (Lusana meaning Umtwana / Usana – Xhosa name for babies / little ones) was established in 2023 by Sthandiwe Mdlalose, 28 years old, whose experience in childcare and passion for the children coupled with the need for safe care and foundation phase learning, teaching the little ones aged 0-5 years the gross and fine motor skills that form the basis of their Foundation phase learning, motivated her to use her to put her Business Administration Learnership and ECD certification to good use after purchasing the land in October last year with a vision to create and develop it to be an educational hub for the children in this community. Sthandiwe currently has 50 children registered with Lusana but due to the current state of the buildings on the property, shortage of water and lack of ablution facilities, she is educating 20 of these little scholars in her home until her ‘big dreams’ come to fruition.
OUR VISION
Due to the size of this project, we are looking to assist in Phases with Phase I being the main building, which structurally sound, but is in dire need of a refurb and extension to include much needed ablution facilities, store room, kitchenette and office for Sthandiwe. Ablution facilities, perimeter fencing and creating an outdoor play area for the children.
Sthandiwe has been investing the R400 per month fees she receives from a portion of the children currently attending right back into the property, keeping the facilities and the grounds clean and tidy, installing a DV board and applying to eTekeweni for power supply installation. In chatting to Sthandiwe on our visits to site, we are so excited by her passion, drive and genuine care for making an impact in the lives of the children in the KwaNgcolosi community and have highlighted vision, needs and basic requirements from her ‘big dreams wish list’ and we’d be so grateful if you’d consider helping us to refurbish and uplift this little Creche!
Email Project Manager kim@kimgriffithjones.com for full and detailed project plan for 2025.
GET INVOLVED
tracy@khwezi.net kim@khwezi.net
Contact Tracy on +27 84-555-1195 11a Homestead Road, ForestHills
DONATION DETAILS
Hearts In Hands FNB, 250665
Acc No 62855174224
