The TLC Old Age Home hosted a celebration of the developments of their new building in Hammanskraal on 18 July, as part of the Mandela day celebration. The community joined in the celebration with singing and lending extra hands with getting the elderly ready for their special day.
The construction of the TLC Old Age Home is still underway. The old age home was started by Mama Johanna, a resident in Hammanskraal, in an effort to assist the destitute and terminally ill elderly of the Hammanskraal township area. Mama Johanna erected shacks and separated them into women and men's quarters, including a kitchen area to service the approximately 45 elderly, now permanently residing in these premises. In 2011, Charl Pretorius from Kwalata Game Ranch situated nearby, saw a need to act in improving the dire condition of the old age home. Kwalata partnered with Desto FET College and other entities from the area to form a team dedicated to the development of proper building facilities. The development of the TLC property commenced on 18 July 2011, Mandela day and has since progressed very well, with little more work left to turn it into a full brick house with completed women and men's quarters, as well as a dining area.
The team behind the development has received support from the local government office of Mayor Kgosientsho Ramokgopa of the City of Tshwane Municipality and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).
During event, The Executive Mayor, Councilor Kgosientso Ramokgopa expressed his gratitude and support to all the sponsors. “We salute the sponsors who initiated this project and are working hard in making sure that the elderly people as they are the ones who the youth look to for guidance and wisdom. What I’ve experienced here today, truly reflects the values that Nelson Mandela stands for – unity, peace love and sacrifice. This is the best way to celebrate Mandela day,” said the Mayor.
Although the building is progressing well, there's still a lot of work to be done in the proposed second phase - which includes the erection of an ablution block and kitchen facilities.
The list of sponsors include: The Carousel, FNB which provide food and blankets, Oasis Church, Dinokeng Game Reserve, Caring Hands Foundation, Build It, Kwathlano Foundation and Purity. Kwathlano Foundation provided a lovely birthday cake, with Soft Spreads providing jam and butter spreads for the home and Darling Hair providing hair product for the elderly’s goodie bags.
For more information on the project and how you can contribute, please contact their PRO, Lerato Maloka on 011 333 0191 or 071 153 9199 or alternatively email her on lerato@hot-mustard.com
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