Download PDFChange is possible and hope is real – this is the message shared with Karibu! by Thapelo Maduna, a 55-year-old man who works at Dirang Ka Kagiso, situated in the Vaal, Bophelong (south of Gauteng). Dirang Ka Kagiso is a Community Home Based Care centre found that deals with orphaned and vulnerable families.
According to Maduna, their main focus are disadvantaged families in the area. They issue food parcels to families, though Dirang Ka Kagiso also has a drop-in centre where they cook meals for the families.
Dirang Ka Kagiso was founded in 2000 by the late Maki Diphare, who passed away in the 2005. It is now managed by Alena Peete. “I started working in the organisation in 2001” said Maduna. Throughout the years of existence, the OVC Coordinators and Supervisor have done much great work and have been involved in the physical improvements of the organisation.
Dirang Ka Kagiso also works with other organisations such as Idebono Victim Empowerment Centre, Khanya College, a rehabilitation centre, Vanderbijlpark Trauma Centre, the local clinic, SAVF (Suid-Afrikaanse Vrouefederasie, a welfare organisation), and a children’s home in the area.
Its daily activities include support groups, homework assistance, home visits, treatment adherence, life skills programmes such as reading and writing short stories and book clubs. Dirang Ka Kagiso also runs community awareness campaigns.
The aim of Dirang Ka Kagiso is to see people of the community free from hunger and to develop them to sustain themselves. Maduna spoke of a former beneficiary of the centre who he assisted when her mother was very ill, and later passed on. The woman participated in almost all the programmes offered by Dirang Ka Kagiso and today she is a Child and Youth Caregiver.
This is just one of the many accounts of people who have been supported by Dirang Ka Kagiso to make a better life for themselves and their community.
This article was submitted on 16 October 2021. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article (https://karibu.org.za/dirang-ka-kagiso-gives-hope-to-community/).
