The Young Ones

When I last visited my friend Pelisa ( middle) at the Ethembeni Old Age Home, I was lucky to meet two very dynamic ladies who had powerful visions for the future and great stories to tell. And you know by now how much I love to do portraits of people and their dreams.
It inspires me to see other people's determination and reminds me to follow my own dreams.

Mrs.Mandleleni and Mrs Tom were paying Pelisa a visit. She is the visionary, manager and founder of the Ethembeni Old Age Home. Both women were seeking practical advice from her concerning the creation, funding and management of self-help initiatives. And both ladies have just founded two self help groups. They are not shy at all to undertake such a demanding task although their are not in their teens themselves.   

Mrs Tom is the founder of the Simbambisene Service Center for the Aged. 

She says: I want to teach the women skills.
 I have started to train them in the art of traditional bead-work.
Women have to have the chance to learn something in life.

 Our groups are young, she explains, but we take it step by step.
And we have Pelisa, she says, she knows so much.
I have seen this every often and this is the spirit of Mdantsane.
People do help each other.

And they have truly found great advice with Pelisa, a lady who has followed her dream with unbelievable motivation and whose determination has brought the only Old Age Home in Mdantsane from a pure idea into life.

Mrs. Mandleleni is the creator of the Sizamile Women's Group.

We teach women about their rights in life.

Women have to know about their rights in life, even if they are old, she explains to me.
This has been neglected for far too long.

I was promised that I would be allowed to visit their organizations next week. 

But of course my visit had to be prepared.

CAN YOU BE EVER YOUNGER THAN THIS ?