SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
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The Botshibelo Poverty Alleviation Village
Magaliesburg, South Africa
Two decades ago, Con and Marion Cloete were successful professionals raising their daughters in a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The apartheid laws at the time especially disturbed the Cloetes. They were witnessing the forced break down of black families, watching South Africa’s moral, ethical and social values fading away.
Marion Cloete felt compelled to do something. She dreamed of teaching disadvantaged children, hoping she could help stem the loss of culture and sense of value. In 1980, she began studying for a university degree specializing in labour, anthropology, industrial sociology and psychology.
In December of 1990, the Cloete family decided to walk away from their five-bedroom house, swimming pool, servants and many of their well-to-do friends to start a school for disadvantaged African kids. Marion and Con used their life savings to buy a 40-hectare (99-acre) farm in Magaliesburg, 100 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, converting old sheds and barns into dormitories and classrooms.
Marion concentrated on educating the students, while Con ran the business end. All three of their daughters, Leigh, Nicole and Shanna, joined them and eventually left a private school education to matriculate (or graduate) at the school their parents started. They called their school Botshabelo, which means “place of refuge” in the Tswana language.
The Cloete family completely immersed themselves in their new culturally-rich, yet the poverty-ridden community, experiencing both its heart-breaking challenges and its invigorating joys.
Once again, it didn’t take long for word of what the Cloetes were doing to spread. Botshibelo quickly expanded beyond the school into an orphanage, and now a Poverty Alleviation Village becoming a home and safe haven for children orphaned by AIDS and those whose families couldn’t afford to care for them.
The Botshibelo Poverty Alleviation Village continued to grow, gradually expanding as the Cloete’s addressed the critical needs of the community one by one. Botshibelo now includes a medical clinic, an organic farm with livestock and a fish farm. And as soon as they have the funding, they plan to start a small business in the form of a roadside stand for residents to work in. “The original vision is still unfolding, but it’s far better than we saw it,” Con said. “It’s coming to fruition, if something as dynamic as this ever does. Because as time goes on, each new generation applies its own solutions, drawn from their own period. That’s why we place so much emphasis on youth management and development.”
The Botshibelo Poverty Alleviation Village community is currently home to more than 1,000 people and continues to grow at a steady pace, as do plans for a successful future. Con and Marion’s family has also grown, and now includes sons-in-law and grandchildren.
They all live and work together at Botshabelo. “We have all remained honorable and are more committed than ever,” Con said. “Everything else comes as it must.”
A portion of the sales from Trevor's Artwork is donated to the Poverty Alleviation Village.
Donate directly today: www.angel-strong.org
Magaliesburg, South Africa
Two decades ago, Con and Marion Cloete were successful professionals raising their daughters in a wealthy suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The apartheid laws at the time especially disturbed the Cloetes. They were witnessing the forced break down of black families, watching South Africa’s moral, ethical and social values fading away.
Marion Cloete felt compelled to do something. She dreamed of teaching disadvantaged children, hoping she could help stem the loss of culture and sense of value. In 1980, she began studying for a university degree specializing in labour, anthropology, industrial sociology and psychology.
In December of 1990, the Cloete family decided to walk away from their five-bedroom house, swimming pool, servants and many of their well-to-do friends to start a school for disadvantaged African kids. Marion and Con used their life savings to buy a 40-hectare (99-acre) farm in Magaliesburg, 100 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, converting old sheds and barns into dormitories and classrooms.
Marion concentrated on educating the students, while Con ran the business end. All three of their daughters, Leigh, Nicole and Shanna, joined them and eventually left a private school education to matriculate (or graduate) at the school their parents started. They called their school Botshabelo, which means “place of refuge” in the Tswana language.
The Cloete family completely immersed themselves in their new culturally-rich, yet the poverty-ridden community, experiencing both its heart-breaking challenges and its invigorating joys.
Once again, it didn’t take long for word of what the Cloetes were doing to spread. Botshibelo quickly expanded beyond the school into an orphanage, and now a Poverty Alleviation Village becoming a home and safe haven for children orphaned by AIDS and those whose families couldn’t afford to care for them.
The Botshibelo Poverty Alleviation Village continued to grow, gradually expanding as the Cloete’s addressed the critical needs of the community one by one. Botshibelo now includes a medical clinic, an organic farm with livestock and a fish farm. And as soon as they have the funding, they plan to start a small business in the form of a roadside stand for residents to work in. “The original vision is still unfolding, but it’s far better than we saw it,” Con said. “It’s coming to fruition, if something as dynamic as this ever does. Because as time goes on, each new generation applies its own solutions, drawn from their own period. That’s why we place so much emphasis on youth management and development.”
The Botshibelo Poverty Alleviation Village community is currently home to more than 1,000 people and continues to grow at a steady pace, as do plans for a successful future. Con and Marion’s family has also grown, and now includes sons-in-law and grandchildren.
They all live and work together at Botshabelo. “We have all remained honorable and are more committed than ever,” Con said. “Everything else comes as it must.”
A portion of the sales from Trevor's Artwork is donated to the Poverty Alleviation Village.
Donate directly today: www.angel-strong.org