By Robyn Forbes

Khayelitsha is a poverty-stricken city in South Africa—the country with the largest and most high-profile HIV/Aids epidemic in the world. Approximately 6.3 million individuals in South Africa live with the incurable disease. A staggering 33 percent of adults are HIV positive, and that figure jumps to 40 percent for pregnant mothers. The epidemic has left over 14,000 children in the city of Khayelitsha orphaned, living in severe poverty and sickness.

One woman who moved to the area from a slightly more affluent town in the Eastern Cape took notice of the situation and decided to do something about it. Rosalie Mashale, affectionately known as “Mama Rosie,” opened her home to the scavenging and largely unsupervised neighborhood children whose parents would leave during the day for work.

Along with a willing group of women in the community she began what became a care center for these underprivileged  kids—a place of refuge. It was through this small scale humanitarian effort that Baphumelele Educare Centre was born, the first of what would later become a series of projects.

Although Mama Rosie had good intentions and the support of her neighbors, initially she did not have the resources to properly care for the large number of children who depended on her. The only shelter she could offer was her own home, and it was overflowing with 36 small children by the end of the first week of opening her door.

In 2005, the Elton John Aids Foundation visited the Baphumelele Children’s Home and has since helped transform Baphumelele into a much better equipped safe place for children by building family-type homes for orphans, and making other donations over the years.

Baphumelele has since seen many donations, both from the community and from international supporters, and it is these donations that help keep the organization afloat.

The Educare Centre now runs a preschool as well, which nurtures and educates over 200 children between the ages of 3 months and six years. Shortly after the Educare Centre came the Baphumelele Children’s Home, a byproduct of Mama Rosie’s desire to reach the orphaned, abandoned, and abused children of Khayelitsha.

Other Baphumelele projects include the Child Respite Care Centre, Adult Respite Care Centre, Hospice in the Home, Child Headed Households, Fountain of Hope, and Rosie’s Bakery/Sewing Project. Since its fledgling days in 2000, Baphumelele has grown from a single woman’s in-home effort to a well-recognized organization taking up its own block in the city.

The organization, whose name translates to “you have progressed,” truly does embody its name.

“We are trying to work with these young people in a well-rounded way so that they can be ideal citizen[s],” says Owen Mdledle, youth development coordinator for Fountain of Hope.

Baphumelele is doing a lot more than just providing housing and medical care for the young and vulnerable; It is providing kids with the opportunity to simply enjoy their childhood as well as the knowledge and skills they will need to become successful adults when the time comes.

Rosie’s Bakery is one of Baphumelele’s projects which provides work for teens and young adults to help them finish their education where they otherwise would’ve been left to partake in the saddening fate of their parents. Likewise, Fountain of Hope strives to prepare young adults ages 18-21 for the world they will step into once they transition out of the Baphumelele Children’s Home.

They are taught time management and interview skills, and are even given internships to put those skills in practice. Baphumelele also has its own farm where these young people learn large scale farming skills and tend their own vegetable beds. Fountain of Hope really works to build these young adults’ confidence, develop their emotional intelligence, and teach them how to be responsible in their new roles in society.

Mama Rosie is a recipient of the 2017 CNN Hero award for her philanthropy, which she says “has become a sentinel of hope for the people of Khayelitsha.” Perhaps a bit of hope is just what this regressing township needed.

CNN in conjunction with Crowdrise has collected nearly $4,000 in donations for the Baphumelele organization. To make a donation to Baphumelele, simply visit their website and view their Wish List, which will let you know what supplies are most needed at the time you are looking to make your donation.