Masishaba
My name is Elizabeth Masishaba Mlotshwa. I am a Social Auxiliary worker by profession. I started working at an NGO in 2002 until 2014, where I was working as a Caregiver. I then got trained and graduated in 2015 at Aganang Joburg Child Welfare as a Social Auxiliary worker. I worked with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in the community.
I came back to my organisation to implement what I was taught but was not given a chance, because my organisation didn’t have money to pay us, let alone to finance projects for the children. I survived on getting a stipend, until we were absorbed by the clinic. At the clinic I got trained as a Mentor Mother. I was working with ante-natal patients, lecturing and preparing them before and after giving birth, as well as keeping track until the child is 5 years old.
From my work experiences I have learned a lot about running an organisation. Building up this organisation was a dream of me and my late husband, as we saw that there was a need in the community that we live in. Around the area that we live in we saw a lot of children on the streets after school, some of them already addicted to substances. A lot of them know me because I worked with them at school and they kept coming to me, asking for help or food. I see them every day playing on the street, nobody is looking after them. Some dropped out of school due to different circumstances, as taking drugs or just missing support with studying and homework.
My husband and I applied for an NPO certificate, but it came through after my husband died. I need our dream to come true, to help our community especially after my husband’s death.
Children are our community’s future; they are the ones that will bring change to our society. We therefore need to let them grow up safe and educated, to ensure that they are able to use all opportunities that our country offers. If we want progress in our country, we need to support our children physically and emotionally. At the present moment, there is not enough support for them and their huge potential is blown to the wind. A child, as the weakest member in our society, needs to be protected and should not suffer due to some wrongs in our country.
I sincerely stand behind this values and I am prepared to grow this organisation, even though I know the road may be a long and hard one. I am prepared to start from the bottom and build up new skills with the help of the community.
The name of the organisation is AMMISH Community Development; this does not refer to the religious belief of the Amish People, but stands for the following:
A ctions
M entoring
M ission
I mpact
S ociety
H ome-based
With kind regards,
Masishaba Mlotshwa