A TSHOLOTSHO woman says she was inspired to open an orphanage after a 12-year-old orphan from her area was married off to an old man.
Siqinisweyinkosi Mhlanga, an orphan and a beneficiary of the Joshua Nkomo scholarship, established the Orphans’ Friend in 2008.
“I was in pain when I came home during one of my semester holidays and found out that a 12-year-old girl had been married off to an old man in the area,” she said.
“She has had four children with this old man but he later divorced her and she now lives a miserable life.”
Mhlanga’s orphanage centre offers courses in hairdressing, beauty therapy, hotel catering as well as Form 1 to 6 classes.
“We have now managed to register those who are not orphans to bridge the gaps created by the shortage of schools in the district,” she said.
“We have also registered ten students from the San community, one of the marginalised groups in the district.”
Source Southern eye
