Former soldier who feeds orphans pleads for help
Zukiswa Ngxowa takes care of 25 kids and young adults with little support
Zukiswa Ngxowa, the woman behind the centre for the disabled and orphaned children outside King William’s Town is calling for help as she’s taking care of 25 kids and young adults with little support.
Ngxowa, a former South African National Defence Force lieutenant, said she left her work to take care of the orphans who needed “motherly love”.
“I am doing this for the love of children but the problem is that there’s no money to look after them. Finances have dwindled and mostly I was using money from my pocket and now we are desperate for help from Good Samaritans,” she said.
She runs Cornerstone Training Centre near Tyusha village in the Izele area. This centre is situated at the Intsika Yesizwe, an institution that was intended to help early school leavers acquire the skills needed to compete successfully in the job market. It was founded in Ciskei in 1981 to deal with the problem of large numbers of pupils leaving school at an early age. Originally founded under the supervision of the Ciskei Special Forces, the centre was later transferred to the Ciskei department of education.
Many of the children and youths who live there are orphans and some come from children’s homes. Last year, numbers peaked. At its peak, it was home to 68 children.
“I took those kids in knowing that I had nothing but we would make a plan to have something to eat. I have about 25 children currently and we welcome newcomers. Some grocery stores, churches and a few individuals have come to assist and some have donated beds for us. We appreciate that very much,” said Ngxowa.
She said at the start of the national lockdown, life had been very difficult for them as there was no movement and little support. “My children faced poverty and I could not do anything. We have not recovered from this lockdown as no proper support has come forward. We try to have three meals a day.”
The centre has one toilet for both males and females. There is little security as some doors have no proper locks.
Ngxowa said it would make a huge difference to have resources, things like solar panels, security around the buildings and food gardens.
When Dispatch visited the centre on Wednesday, a few people from the community were there and they showed the journalists around the centre.
Food was prepared on a fire even though the centre is connected to the power grid. This is because there was no-one to help fix the broken lines and pay for electricity. At night they use paraffin lanterns.
Sipho Sithole, 21, who lives at the centre said he had no other place to go. “This is home, this is where my life is,” he said with a warm smile. “I have been here five years and I have never experienced suffering like this. Things are getting tougher for mama (Gxowa). We can see she’s struggling to get things right but she’s not showing that to us, she’s is trying to be strong.”
Sithole said life would be better if there was running water, electricity, food, decent housing and education.
“We need to have skills and be able to stand up for ourselves. We are getting old and we want to have training where we can be employed and plough back so that other kids who have a similar background like us can come here and benefit,” said Sithole. One of the kids, Onke Ngetu, a budding musician, said: “All we need is people to know about the plight of this place. It helps us to be off the streets and safe. We need help.”