Building 'Khaya Le Themba' 

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During the March of 2016, when the team was in Johannesburg building Ithemba, we spent one of the days running an outreach in a local informal settlement called Thembelihle. While doing this outreach day we really saw the need for education and support in the area, and so from this day the 2017 project, Khaya le Themba (home of hope), was born.

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In August of 2017 a team of 26 adults and young people once again went out to Johannesburg to make a huge difference in a local community. This year was a big task, a lot of work, and a lot of fundraising, but once again the Urban Shift team and our incredible supporters pulled through.

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The project this year was to refurbish a derelict community centre and old block of offices which would become classrooms, refurbish the toilet block and install a shipping container which would become the kitchen and offices. This project has the capacity to supply pre-school education for up to 60 2-6 year olds and a safe pace for more than 100 children and teenagers to play, learn and receive food after school.   

 

For most of the children living in Thembelihle, travelling to Khaya everyday isn’t an option because it is too far, so this new centre will bring happiness and hope to so many children. Access to a pre-school education is vital for the growth of these young children and we hope that this new centre will give lots of children the positive start to their education that they need.

 

This project really was one of the most physically and emotionally challenging tasks Urban Shift has ever taken on, however the incredible support from everyone in the UK and South Africa meant that we could succeed in building a safe, colourful and fun environment for children to learn and play in.

Once again, we can’t thank all our supporters enough. Here are some photos to show just how much we are changing peoples lives. From the first day one of the team members visited the site, to the day of opening day. All within a few weeks.

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