The founder

My name is Sibusisiwe Sithole, Busi for short. I am a Zimbabwean woman, mother of 2, and grandmother of 5, but raised about 30 children I used to accommodate. I always believed in the importance of changing children's lives by teaching them skills and helping them to stay away from beer drinking and drugs. I was born with a loving kind heart and grew up with the compassion to help others. Helping people has always been a part of my life.

History

I started giving food to poor people in the streets in 2004. In 2011 I moved to Knysna (South Africa) while taking care of my sister's two children, as she was not able to do that herself due to health problems. I opened an art and craft shop which in 2019 was visited by a customer from Sweden who advised me to register a Non Profitable Organization called the New Dawn Hope Foundation. I felt it was time for me to stand and I took it as confirmation from God to help children who are hungry by cooking fresh food for them after school. I became a popular soup kitchen that feeds between 30 to 50 kids twice a week up to now.

Challenges

I have a shop that I must open daily to earn money to feed the kids. During the pandemic, my business did not do well and prices continue to rise. It is not easy especially when you do it alone. I use a very small stove which makes it challenging to cook. I wake up as early as I can, usually at 3 a.m. to cook fresh food for the kids. At the moment I am asking for help from anyone out there to be able to employ someone to help me cook, buy food, and buy a bigger stove and necessary kitchen utensils. My biggest dream is to see the Foundation grow, to have my own place where I can build a shelter and help more kids out there.