Silke Rylands, left, director of Ubuntu Charity, said they want to inspire children to become active citizens.
Image: Supplied
A local charity has inspired children from Imizamo Yethu to become helpers in their community.
Ubuntu Charity, a German non-profit, has been supporting residents, mainly children, from Imizamo Yethu for just over six years through various projects.
Now the children are eager to be part of the initiatives that once helped them.
Thirteen-year-old Owen Balasana has become a regular helper at the soup kitchen.
"I like making a difference in people’s lives. It means a lot to me to help those who were in need," he said, as he peeled vegetables and served food.
Simon Vidkus, 12, said he enjoyed making sure his surroundings remained clean. So when he heard about the recycling project, he rushed to get involved.
"I was very excited because it really makes me feel good. Thank you for the opportunity. I like cleaning and I also want to start my own cleaning group one day," he said.
The brains behind it all is Ubuntu Charity director Silke Rylands, a German woman who lives in Cape Town. She said Ubuntu Charity runs daily tuition programmes for about 100 children, a soup kitchen, a library, a recycling project, offers sponsorships, gives out donations, supports people to start their own small business and has a social auxiliary worker.
Owen Balasana from Imizamo Yethu helping to dish food for other children in the community.
Image: Supplied
Ms Ryland said the main aim was getting the children from the tuition programme involved in other initiatives.
"They hung up sign-up sheets in their classrooms for the children and teenagers to voluntarily put down their names to either help at the soup kitchen or the recycling project," she said. "Fortunately, all the spaces were filled within one day, and they’ll try to arrange more dates.
"The idea is that the kids have something to do with a purpose, to give back to the community and learn new skills. They want to show that everyone can do their bit to help others, that they’re important members of the community and it gives them a sense of being needed and helpful."
When Ms Ryland started the soup kitchen in November 2018, they cooked and delivered nearly 150 meals every Friday afternoon, but she felt more needed to be done, so she founded Ubuntu Charity and started looking for a permanent home ("Ubuntu is looking for home", Sentinel News, February 11, 2022).
If you’d like to get involved or support the organisation in any way or have any questions, check out our Ubuntu Charity Facebook page or contact Silke 063 009 5393 via WhatsApp.