Thembanathi (www.thembanathi.org), in partnership with Holy Cross Hospice, supports more than 250 children who have been orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS in KwaZulu-Natal, providing them with educational resources, food parcels, housing, clothing and blankets, screening for additional grants, and home-based care. By way of three local income generation projects--Fancy Stitch Project, Zulu Beadwork Project, and Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust--Thembanathi creates a sustainable method of fundraising while also fostering local economic empowerment. The profits from these income generation projects are used to support Thembanathi's scholarship recipients. 

History and Background
Thembanathi partners with Holy Cross Hospice, an organization founded by Sister Priscilla Dlamini, a local nun, that supports children affected by HIV/AIDS in rural Gingindlovu, KwaZulu-Natal. Holy Cross Hospice is comprised of a preschool for these orphans and other vulnerable children, as well as a hospice and clinic for HIV/AIDS patients. Thembanathi's support, for example, provides transportation to and from preschool within a 50 square kilometer area, feeding programs for child-headed households, and educational necessities. Started in 2003, Thembanathi’s leadership has also conducted qualitative research in the communities in which Holy Cross Hospice operates to assess the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children and to evaluate the effectiveness of its programs.

Sister Priscilla created the Holy Cross Hospice preschool after noticing that many primary and secondary school age children in households affected by HIV/AIDS were dropping out so that they could care for their pre-primary school age siblings during the day. Originally housed in a one-car garage, the Holy Cross Hospice preschool--thanks in large part to Thembanathi's fundraising--now consists of a new building that can accommodate 200 youths. Today, primary and secondary school age children drop their preschool age siblings off at the Holy Cross Hospice preschool in the morning and pick them up in the late afternoon. At the preschool, these youngsters receive clothing, an education, counseling, and two nutritious meals a day. The English and basic math skills that they are taught help prepare them for primary school. During recess, the children play with donated toys and playground equipment. 

Soon after opening the hospice, Sister Priscilla became aware that many of her sick and dying patients had children who needed care. To support these youths, she developed a network of caregivers and a food parcel program. Twenty-two caregivers work in the community to identify and provide support for these vulnerable youngsters. The caregivers report back to the Holy Cross Hospice so that child-headed households can receive a food parcel every month until Holy Cross has assisted them in obtaining a government grant. The food parcel program feeds over 2,000 orphans. The 22 caregivers also create an innovative information and communication network between those in need and Holy Cross. Walking long distances from hut to hut, the caregivers offer access to resources, such as government grants, home-based care, children's rights, water, and sanitation. Thembanathi provides support for these food parcels, the caregivers' training, and nurse or doctor-based administration of medicine for those children who are in need. Additionally, to empower HIV/AIDS affected children who are located in the most remote areas, Holy Cross has established two satellite centers in the rural mountains, where youths too far from the preschool can go to receive a cooked meal and support every day. 

Finally, Thembanathi has partnered with the Homeplan Foundation, a Dutch organization that provides robust and inexpensive new housing for child-headed households whose current living accommodations are inadequate. To date, with Thembanathi's support, Homeplan has donated more than 75 houses in the communities that Holy Cross Hospice serves. This housing offers safety and comfort for these children, some of whom previously were without shelter. Homeplan has agreed to donate a total of 200 homes if the Holy Cross Hospice and Thembanathi can fund the local labor and transportation of supplies.

Sister Priscilla continues to expand Holy Cross Hospice’s services to meet the growing needs of Gingindlovu, KwaZulu-Natal. In the future, Holy Cross Hospice will strive to deliver more long-term assistance, such as vocational and skills training and peer-run activities that foster reciprocity and improved psychosocial health.