The Maria Old Age Home was founded in October 2022 by two sisters, Zama and Present Khosa. They named the home after their late mother, Maria Khosa, who died in 2005 of bone cancer.
The idea of opening an old age home came when both sisters realised the need for such an amenity in the area when they had to take care of their late mother.
“It was difficult. We tried to get someone to help us take care of her, but we could not find anyone,” said Zama.
She was in high school and Present in primary school when they had to care for their mother for a year.
“Eventually she could not even open her eyes or speak but she would move her fingers and that was how she communicated with us,” said Present.
Both sisters started studying towards becoming nurses, but they could not complete it because of financial challenges. However, this did not stop them from working as caregivers.
They met Estelle Swart, a former resident of Evander, who did a lot of community work and supported cancer patients in the area before she relocated to Pretoria a few years ago.
“We did the care work with Estelle and she taught us a lot. My sister and I would take turns. One of us would do day shift and one night shift,” said Zama.
It was during this time when an elderly man, whom they were taking care of, died and his wife had to go to an old age home, that they again realised the need for another old age home in the area.
“We had no money, but we got together with a few other people to put our ideas on paper,” said Zama.
“We prayed about it and found a property that costs R20 000 per month, excluding water and lights. My sister and I only had R7 000 in our bank accounts. We needed beds, furniture and everything else to open an old age home.”
They posted their plans on Facebook and received many requests from people who wanted to stay at the old age home. Soon, they began to receive donations and could open their doors.
“We had the idea for this many years before it happened. We tried to save money to open it, but with all life’s expenses, we could not save enough money.
“God had a plan and as soon as we began trusting Him to provide, we saw miracles. We look at this place now and all we can say is that with God, all things are possible,” said Zama.
The Maria Old Age Home can accommodate 28 residents, including the frail care section which the three directors consisting of the two sisters and Dalene Klopper are still working on upgrading.
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