From being orphaned as a teen to becoming a mother to Shaka’s Head community

Snenhlanhla Mthembu overcame teenage hardship to become a community hero and is now offering struggling children the support she once needed herself.

Mthembu is shaping young lives in Shaka’s Head through her crèche, Siyakhula, which caters for 75 children and employs five local women.

“I pursued early childhood development studies and opened the crèche in 2016,” she said.

The crèche does not receive government funding and relies solely on school fees and donations.

“We also accept children from families who cannot afford to pay,” she explained.

Mthembu emphasised the crucial role played by non-profit organisations like The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund, which have enabled her to give back to the community that supported her as an orphaned teenager.

Mthembu’s deep compassion is rooted in her personal experiences. Orphaned while in matric and becoming a mother at just 16, she took on the responsibility of raising her five younger siblings – the youngest being only two years old at the time. To support her family, she sold umqombothi (traditional African beer).

With the assistance of the Ithemba Labasha community centre in Shaka’s Head, she and her siblings received the help they needed, allowing her to stay in school and complete her matric.

After finishing school, she worked in the hospitality industry, but her passion for community service came calling. From launching after-school programmes and choirs to helping the elderly with hospital visits, Mthembu continues to make a difference in her community.

She also supplies food donated by Food Lovers to her community and lends a helping hand to the Ithemba Labasha community centre – the place that gave her a home when she needed it the most.

Mthembu has been a beneficiary of The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund since 2022. She receives monthly food vouchers to feed kids at Siyakhula and essentials to distribute in her community.

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