The Project
The project`s vision is to empower the local people to be self-sustained. They own a multi-purpose building that is used as a community center for Shigamani Village. Besides supporting the orphans, they create opportunities for the local people through education and care. It is a safe place for hope, growth, celebration, and life-transformation.
Shigamani Village
The Shigamani Village was formed during apartheid — when the people were forced into segregation. There are around 15,000 people, mostly under the age of 35. More than 200 orphans live in the village, with many more in neighboring villages. 90% of the girls in this village become pregnant by the time they turn 18. HIV runs rampant and babies are left parent-less more times than you can imagine.
The village is located 6 hours north of Johannesburg in Limpopo, the province with the highest level of poverty among all South African provinces, with 74.4% of families living below the national poverty line.
Project Leader
Gertrude Mathebula
Opportunities
Our goal is to send valuable resources and teams to support the community and project leadership, so they can utilize this space to its maximum potential. There are endless opportunities to help them grow and create revenue to support their families. Such possibilities include:
- Teach local people valuable skills to become self-sustaining (for example: teaching the local women how to sew and sell clothing)
- Invest in agricultural development and training
- Farm their land
- Drill wells to provide clean water
- Leverage entrepreneurship opportunities
- Help the project leaders to start a bakery to generate income for the project
- Provide medical care and support to the orphans and endangered children
- And much more.
The potential for this project is endless, and we are so excited to see it all unfold. Future generations will be impacted by the work that takes place within these walls and countless lives will be touched by your teams` influence.
History
The project started in 2012 and was led by Vusi Masinga from Shigamani Village. He was a visionary and had many plans for the village development. Masinga started to build a multipurpose building to be a community center with the help of the American non-profit Dunamis Connections. In 2016, he passed away and this left a void in the project leadership. Soon after his passing, a tornado came through and blew two of the walls out of the building. After the walls were rebuilt by the community, Gertrude Mathebula (Masinga`s widow) took the leadership. Dunamis Connections helped them in the process of putting on a roof and making the building ready to be used.
