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Winnie Mabaso lives in Finetown (an informal settlement just outside of Johannesburg). Winnie's township like many in South Africa has been severely affected by the HIV/AIDS virus.
Every week Winnie would cook for upwards of 1700 children - the memory of those little kids lining up at Winnie's house with their little plastic bowls for the only meal they would receive that day is something I will never forget.
Many of these children had lost their parents and were orphans. When she had finished feeding them Winnie then visited folk in her township who were bed-bound from the virus. Giving them bed baths and feeding them mouthfuls of soup and basically trying to improve the quality of their lives for as long as they had left.
When I returned to the UK Winnie and I stayed in touch and I began fundraising for her.
Winnie wrote to me to inform me of a dreadful myth that had begun circulating around the village. Men were saying that if they were infected with HIV/AIDS sleeping with a virgin would heal them!
The only way of them ensuring that someone was a virgin was if they were a child, so many of the orphans were being raped. Winnie was desperate to find safe and secure housing for the children.
Through fundraising we were able to assist Winnie in getting a house in Finetown which has now become an orphanage for 60 local children. Since Winnie's death this is now managed by Winnie's sister, Linda and Miriam Louw, who was a volunteer with Winnie for several years.
The Winnie Mabaso Foundation (Reg charity no 1116037) has been established to continue to assist in the care of the orphans of Finetown. Winnie achieved her dream of offering protection to these children - it's now our
turn to continue what she began.
Lisa Ashton
