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 A Glimpse into the World of Two Orphans
Tshepiso (11) and Katleho (9) are stepsisters, recently orphaned as a result of the tragic death of their mother, Margaret. The whereabouts of their fathers is unknown to the two girls. Tshepiso and Katleho are sponsored children working with World Vision’s Orlando East Area Development Program in South Africa. The following accounting of their life is in their own words.
 We spent the last three years trying to help our Aunt Elizabeth to nurse our mom through her illness. It was very hard watching her become more and more ill and feeling so helpless.
It was especially hard to concentrate on our school work. Sometimes we didn’t go to school, just so that we could be with her.
Since mom died we have been taken care of by Aunt Elizabeth, my mom’s sister, who is herself a single mother with two children of her own -– Hloni, 14 and her little boy Fezile, who is only two. “Lalle,” as we call our aunt, is very kind and has accepted us as her own. She makes a little income by sewing curtains, baking, and renting space in the back yard.
We try to help with some of the chores, like cooking and looking after our little cousin, Fezile.
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| Aunt Elizabeth’s Perspective
I remember the girls only crying once -- when visiting their mother’s grave, two weeks ago. What is most important to me is that the children have someone they can trust to be there for them. We have pulled through the really tough time together, when Margaret was so ill. God is by our side and it will always be so. | |
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This photo shows us with our cousins, Palesa (far right), who is almost 13 (in the denim jacket), and Lebohang (far left), who is 11 years old. We now sleep in my mom’s room, alone. Although we miss our mom so much, we are now doing better at our school work. | | World Vision has been a great help. They provided us with groceries and toiletries even when our mom was still alive. We have also been on a World Vision children’s outing to the Zoo, which was such fun! We get a meal from the World Vision feeding program. We are very fond of Mandla Nkosi (World Vision’s HIV/AIDS Facilitator), who comes to visit us quite often to see that we are all okay. Sometimes a volunteer also comes to visit -- Wandisile Nyati (20 years old and in Grade 12). He says he wants to help in the community. |
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| We are actually very lucky -– much more so than many other orphans in Soweto, who don’t have loving and caring families, or the help we receive from World Vision and our sponsors. |
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