A Hanover Park non-profit organisation celebrated 20 years of helping the community on Saturday.
Wareldia Julius, 61, the founder of Hanover Roses, along with her team of volunteers and guests, marked the occasion at the Belthorn community hall.
Ms Julius said she had started Hanover Roses by chance.
“I resigned from my job to care for my mother then. One day, I wandered off to the community centre and there I met Shamsunisa Dalwai, a facilitator of Grassroots Educare Trust, who was presenting a workshop there. That was in 2002. The following year, Hanover Roses was registered. After I attended the workshop and received training, the organisation just grew from there,” Ms Julius said.
Mareldia Tape, the director of Grassroots, said the organisation had been involved with early childhood development in the province for more than 50 years.
“We trained Wareldia and she started with 15 children whose parents could not afford the fees to enrol their children in a structured creche. From there, her organisation also expanded to include arts and crafts and she also started a soup kitchen,” Ms Tape said.
“We were just the agents, but it is people like Wareldia who are the glue. She had a vision to serve her community.”
Ms Dalwai said Ms Julius was loved and respected by many.
“She is a very compassionate person, and she helps anybody. She is really a shining example of what can be achieved, even in challenging situations.”
Ms Julius said she still enjoyed doing community work although she had had to close the playgroup because she had not had the space in her lounge to accommodate its growing numbers.
“I am grateful to my family, friends and the staff of Hanover Roses for all their support. Our playgroups made sure the children we served were school-ready. I even assisted some of them to successfully apply for jobs when they were older.”
She added that it had been through caring for her mother and her mother’s friend, who had lived nearby, that she had realised that many elderly people did not have the strength to cook for themselves.
“This is how the soup kitchen started. I was chosen by God to do this, so I have to do it full-heartedly,” Ms Julius said.
The arts and crafts group meets every Wednesday morning from 9am at the Hanover Park community centre.
