In 1989, Rosalia Mashale,
“Rosie” to those around her, a trained primary school
teacher, moved from the Eastern Cape to Khayelitsha in the Western
Cape Province.
Rosie was disturbed to see young children going
through the rubbish dump in search for food while their parents were
away during the day, either at work or in search of work. She
responded by taking children into her home, and together with a
group of women from the community, began looking after these
unsupervised children. After the first week, 36 children had joined
their charge.
The name given to this project was Baphumelele
(pronounced: bah-poo-meh-LAY-lay), a Xhosa word meaning
“progress”.
From these humble beginnings the
Baphumelele Educare Centre was
founded, which today is an established community crèche (preschool)
caring for roughly 230 children aged three months to six years.
While the Educare Centre had developed a
reputation for looking after children, Rosie also felt a calling to
reach out to orphaned children in the community. To that end, the
Baphumelele Children's Home was
created as a place of safety for abandoned, abused, neglected or
orphaned children, most of whom are either infected with or affected
by HIV/Aids.
Through the hard work,
determination and help of the community and overseas friends,
Baphumelele has developed into a thriving community project over the
years. In addition to the Children's Home and Educare Centre, today
Baphumelele encompasses other community outreach initiatives such
as: Baphumelele Woodwork Shop,
Rosie's Kitchen,
Baphumelele Second-Hand Shop, and the
HIV Respite Care Centre.
