When Susan (Mathapelo) Mathebule was a child, she, her mother and siblings had to sleep in public toilets for a year and a half after her parents’ divorce.

Then Suzan (now 25) met a man who promised to take care of her. For over five years Suzan lived with her boyfriend in his tin shack in Diepsloot. The boyfriend constantly abused her emotionally, physically and sexually which resulted in Suzan’s four children: Margaret (4), Mapheto (3), Lerato (2) and Big Boy (1). Suzan stayed at home to house keep for her boyfriend and, as a result, had no working experience.

In March this year, Suzan’s boyfriend threw her out of his shack along with their four children. Suzan had nowhere to go, no resources with which to support her family and no confidence nor ability to find employment. Having heard about MaAfrika Tikkun, she immediately approached one of the caregivers who offered temporary shelter for the destitute family. Bessy Netsianda, the project leader for the MaAfrika Tikkun project in Diepsloot, reviewed the situation and registered the children for daily meals from the kitchens. Bessy also enrolled Susan for 69 day training as a caregiver, where she will earn a monthly stipend.

Additionally, as a direct result of marketing the Mathebule family through the Angel’s Project, the four vulnerable children have been sponsored by Joanna and Phillippe Jordan of the USA. As a beneficiary of this sponsorship the Mathebule family now has a home, the new tin shack viewed in this photo. The family has also received a shipment of clothing and other items are sent regularly from their sponsors in the US. With this support and encouragement from the family's sponsors, they now have a new lease in life. The children are cared for in a crèche supported by MaAfrika Tikkun while Suzan earns an income through her work as a caregiver. Having just completed a course in adult education and qualified as a caregiver, Suzan is now able to read and write in English as well as earn a higher wage.

Suzan wrote a message for MaAfrika Tikkun and her sponsors, The Jordan family, “I want to thank you for your positive contribution. For the first time in my life I have something of my own. The shack you bought me means freedom for my children and myself”.