After-care founder recognised as Winter Hero

Every afternoon, more than 100 hungry children arrive at a small house in Nellmapius, Pretoria looking for food, warmth and help with homework. For the past 13 years, Thokozile Vukela has opened her doors to them, a commitment that has now earned her recognition as a Halls Winter Hero.

She is a kind-hearted good Samaritan who has spent more than a decade feeding hungry children from her own home has been named a Halls Winter Hero for her dedication to vulnerable families in the community.

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At 59, Vukela, founder of the Mbonane Community Organisation, has become a lifeline for hundreds of children who arrive at her home every afternoon looking for warmth, food and support.

Vukela started the organisation in 2013 after seeing how many children in the area were left without supervision or meals after school.

What began as a small effort from her family home has grown into a community support centre that now helps more than 100 children on some days.

A mother of three herself, Vukela said her love for children and her faith continue to motivate her despite the daily struggles of running the organisation without stable funding.

“I like to help people and to help children coming to my house every day,” she said. “The challenge for me is when they come expecting nourishment and I do not have enough food for everybody.”

Vukela formally registered the organisation through the Department of Social Development shortly after starting the project.

Over the years she has tried to create a structured after-care environment where children can receive meals, homework assistance and emotional support.

Despite limited resources, she has shown remarkable entrepreneurial spirit by employing teachers to help the children with schoolwork.

The teachers assist learners with subjects and languages including Afrikaans, English, Sepedi and isiZulu.

“I help the children with homework and I have teachers here,” she said. “I would like to give them a stipend because they work hard. They come here hoping they are going to get something, but we do not have enough support to pay them.”

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Vukela said she was able to cook full meals throughout the week with the help of donated ingredients. She regularly prepared pap, vegetables, stews and other warm meals for the children.

Today, rising food costs and a lack of sponsorships have made it much harder to maintain the feeding scheme.

“I used to cook the whole week before Covid-19 because we got lots of food and ingredients,” she explained. “I would cook from Monday to Friday, but I am not able to anymore.”

Winter is especially difficult. Vukela said many children arrive at her gate cold and without proper clothing.

“Sometimes children come from their homes and stand at the gate because they want warm food,” she said. “It breaks my heart when I do not have food to give them.”

On some days she uses her own money to buy fruit, bread, tea or coffee so that the children can at least have something warm. “There are hard days when I must tell them there is no food,” she said. “But they still come. Sometimes I can only buy them a packet of chips.”

Apart from food, the organisation also tries to provide soap, stationery, blankets and winter clothing for needy families. Vukela said many children arrive without shoes during the cold winter months.

“We would like to help with clothes and blankets,” she said.

“The children are always looking for pens and stationery. If we could get soup, fruit, vegetables or even water, we would be very happy.”

Vukela often appeals to community groups and donors for assistance and sometimes compiles wish lists during campaigns such as Mandela Day.

“Sometimes people help and sometimes they do not,” she said. “We also go out and collect where we can.”

Her efforts recently received a major boost when the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality allocated land to the organisation. Vukela hopes to eventually build a fully-fledged after-care centre that can accommodate even more children and provide stable services to families in need.

She said the recognition from Halls came as an emotional encouragement after years of sacrifice and uncertainty.

“I am happy about being a Halls Winter Hero and for all the gifts,” she said. “I just wish it could be every day that people visit and help us.”

Despite the hardships, Vukela said she remains committed to serving the community.

 “It is my love for the children and God the provider that keeps me going,” she said. “The Almighty God has been kind to me, and I feel blessed to still be here helping the children. I work hard to help my community and I hope one day we can get proper sponsors so we can cook for the children again every day.”

For Vukela, the remaing dream is simple: that no child arriving at her gate after school should ever have to leave hungry.