Putting children first, Orphan Fund’s Mpume is here to make a difference

One could say Mpume Vilakazi was born to take charge as the new fundraising co-ordinator of The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund. 

Born in rural Umlazi, she and two sisters grew up in a single parent family.

Knowing the hardships of growing up without a father, Mpume is eager to pick up where her predecessor left off and help improve the lives of orphans. 

Mpume started out as a teacher, while one sister is in the defense department and the other is a gynaecologist. 

“We all made it out,” said Mpume, referring to the struggles many endure when coming from poverty. 

She and her husband moved to the North Coast from Gauteng last year.

In particular, she looks forward to helping children in child-headed households.

“It is important to recognise just how stressed children become, especially breadwinners. They are forced to grow up before their time and miss out on what it means to be a child.”

Mpume previously spent several years in Malawi with Chisomo Children’s Club where she cared for, rehomed, and educated runaway children and their parents.

She also helped street children find their way. In many cases where children had run away from home, parents had been unable to provide for them because they were unemployed.

“In such cases, the old saying; ‘If you give a hungry man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime’ comes to mind. And this very much was the case. We would teach parents extra skills, most commonly these included sewing so that they could earn an income and provide for their children.”

This is but one of the many ideas Mpume hopes to use at the Orphan Fund. 

She also wants to make closer contact with local businesses.

When she saw the Orphan Fund vacancy advertisement, she immediately knew this was something she had to do. 

“We need to do more than simply hand out food parcels. As much as it helps, we need to get our hands dirtier and delve into the real problems people are facing. We need to inspire these children to aspire to more than what they feel they are worth.”

To get involved contact Mpume at 032 946 0276.