Patrichea brings help to the community
Through her project, she feeds the homeless, runs a soup kitchen and is also a foster parent.
The Sizo Community Restoration Project, started in 2008, has over the years become a beacon of hope, safety, and transformation for the community around it.
“On a random day, I was touched when I saw an old man who used to sleep in a park,” Patrichea Maine said during an interview with the Roodepoort Record.
“My daughters and I decided to cook for him every Sunday, and he started inviting his friends. I then saw the need in the community, wanted to fill the gap, and that’s how the project started.”
Patrichea’s impact stretches even further as she is currently feeding the homeless every day and has a soup kitchen at the Newclare Informal Settlement, feeding about 120 to 180 people.
She also helps victims of fires or any disasters rebuild their lives by providing them with clothes and furniture.
“I developed a sense of wanting to help others because I have also been in a situation where I didn’t have a place to sleep or didn’t know where my next meal would come from,” she shared.
Over the past eight years, Patrichea has opened her heart and her home to 43 foster children, and is currently raising six, along with her niece and two daughters.
Her commitment to dignity and empowerment doesn’t stop there. She also runs a sewing project to teach elderly residents and community members vital life skills – tools of purpose, confidence, and economic upliftment.
“Once a year, I run Christmas parties, and I’ve also adopted three old-age homes where, in our free time, we go and pamper the adults. I’m also currently pursuing a career in Auxiliary Social Work because I want to make a difference in society.”
For Patrichea, this is her full-time job, and she is grateful to the community for the donations, saying they keep her going.
For more information on Usizo, call Patrichea on 076 492 5844 or send an email to patricheamaine404@gmail.com.
