The Bhambayi Project is a non-profit organisation committed to uplifting the impoverished, through relationships and empowerment. We operate in the Bhambayi Community and are particularly focused on orphans and vulnerable children.
The Bhambayi Community is one of the poorest communities in Durban with an estimated population of over 100 000 and an unemployment rate of greater than 60%. It is located less than 10 kilometres from Durban North on the Curnick Ndlovu Highway (heads up to Inanda)
There are over 70 volunteers involved. We have a leadership team of 15 individuals, which includes our 5 trustees: Mandy Pearson - A minister in the Anglican church, Mandy has been involved in Development work for over 20 years, has a Masters from Cambridge (UK) in Economic development and has also been involved in the corporate world and running her own business. She co-ordinates the team.
Lillian Mokoatle - A leader in the Bhambayi community who not only overseas the crèche of 280 children, but has served on various development forums and ward committees in various capacities. She is the core person leading on the ground operations- identifying needs (short-term and long-term), distributing items, growing the individual relationships from the Bhambayi community's perspective and giving valuable community insight.
Juliet Hartley - Juliet has worked extensively in research and is currently working in a school environment. She plays a crucial role in managing all sponsor and Special Star information, co-ordinating the core functions and managing the relationship with sponsors
Linda James - Linda leads a pre-primary school and has experience in bookkeeping. She effectively runs the finances of the project. All expenses are signed off by the core leadership team and audited by an external accounting firm.
Nompumelelo Ntshingila - One of the individuals sponsored for tertiary education, she is now a student teacher at Livingstone Primary School on the Berea. She is key in many of the on the ground initiatives in the community.
At the beginning of 2007, Mandy had been praying for God to direct her to a community closer to where she lived as she had 2 young children and would rather spend her time making a difference than driving in the car. Flash floods brought the community of Bhambayi to her attention through her domestic worker. The name and phone number obtained was Lillian Mokoatle, a community leader in Bhambayi. A phone call later started a relationship that would grow into a treasured friendship.
The community of St. Martin's church came onboard in a wonderful way, sponsoring the many orphans and vulnerable children that were identified. A few leaders- young and old- were identified in the Bhambayi community and joined the team. The project continued to grow. In 2011 the community of St. Margaret's joined the project and then many others joined the project. Today the project has grown substantially, however the mission remains the same- to impact lives primarily through relationships and empowerment. We are humbled by how God has used our simple offering to bring hope and healing to others.
Every cent goes to the community themselves as all those involved do so on a volunteer basis. Most volunteers are themselves giving financially to the project. Every expense is signed off by a team of three.The R140 paid monthly by sponsors goes directly to cover uniform, stationery and school fees. This is supplemented by donations received from various companies.Examples of other expenditure include food for homes in desperate need, requirements for the creche, pre-school and various children's clubs we run/ support, functions for our orphans, support for our grade 11's, 12's and post matrics to enable them to become gainfully employed, tertiary studies and lots more.
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Community
