This is equivalent to 14% of all children in South Africa - the majority of which are paternal orphans (with living mothers).
Dipuo Ngxata is a wife and a mother of two. At Mosaic SA she also fulfills a motherly role as an after-school facilitator and looks after the organisation’s beneficiaries.
Ngxata was raised by her grandmother in Mbekweni, a township situated between Wellington and Paarl, where poverty rules most households in the community.
“I always believed that all children are equal, irrespective of their upbringing,” she says.
Mosaic SA identifies families who are already taking care of two or more orphaned or vulnerable children. The organisation makes sure that these families are equipped to do so by investing in their growth and development. They also create jobs for parents and provide access to good schools for the children.
“I worked at a retail shop and on my off-days I used to volunteer at Mosaic SA. This organisation is a vehicle that strives to assist vulnerable families out of poverty by working together with the parents to give the children a better life. Eventually, I ended up quitting my job and volunteered full-time at Mosaic because of the love I had for children and my passion to see them creating better lives for themselves as they grow up,” she explains.
Recounting a story that has left a big impression on her, she says: “Mosaic SA assisted a family - a mother and two children - that lived in a one-room house which didn't even have an inside toilet. They also had no beds so they were sleeping on the floor and the area wasn’t safe at all. After doing a survey of the family’s situation, we placed them at a safe place at one of our Mosaic houses. The kids are now going to school and passing with good marks. The mother got a job through our Mosaic job creation programme and the family is really happy. That makes me so proud.”
Her co-workers describe her as a level-headed person who brings emotional stability to situations around her - a valuable characteristic in this field of work. She works very closely with parents and does weekly home visits. Because she herself is a mother, she connects on a deep level with the Mosaic SA families and has an unprecedented commitment towards them.
“It’s challenging not being able to assist all children equally at the same time and not always being able to fulfill their expectations,” she says.
For more, information, go to www.mosaicsa.org.
