Ntziki is the principle owner of Itemba ECD in which Life Child is partnered. Several years ago, Ntziki had a vision and dream to open a preschool in order to help the children of her community. She told her daughters, Khanya and Thandie, about her dream. Thandie was so moved by her vision that she gave Ntziki her house and land in order for her to start a preschool. By 2010, her preschool was open to start welcoming children.
Last year, Nztiki applied for registration of her preschool in order to receive a government subsidy. In the middle of applying for registration, Ntziki was told by the fire department that her preschool did not qualify because the structure was not all brick and did not meet building code standards. The planning department told her that her application for registration was going to expire and the structure needed to be rebuilt before then. Time was running out and she did not have the finances to rebuild her preschool. She quickly began to lose hope.
Ntziki told Life Child about her desperate situation. She told us that if she wasn’t able to register her pre-school, she would just give up. Life Child was able to intervene and Ntziki’s preschool was rebuilt in order to meet the building code requirements. Nztiki also received a donation for Montessori equipment to go towards her preschool.
Because of the miracle God provided in saving their preschool, Ntziki has found a new hope in Jesus. She comes every week to the women’s discipleship group and all can do is praise God for how good He is. Through this and constant prayer, her daughter, Khanya, accepted Jesus into her heart in January. The joy of the Lord is evident in both of these women’s lives.
Khanya has been working at the preschool since it opened November, 2010. Originally, she only started coming to the preschool in order to help her mother out. She had no desire to stay and work at the preschool. Over time, she developed a love for the children and loves being there. She plans on staying at the preschool and taking over after her mother can no longer work.
Ntziki’s other daughter, Thandie, also comes to the preschool every Thursday; her day off from work. She stays there from 6am until close and enjoys spending time with the children when she can. She is also a Sunday School teacher at their church.
These three women make it a point to share the light of the Lord with the children every opportunity they get. The children have daily prayers, memory verses, and listen to bible verses every day. Ntziki wants the children to know the Lord first before anything else. In the midst of their circumstances they are determined to teach the children to know that hope is found in the Lord.
We are so excited about all that God is doing with these women, the children, and their preschool and we cannot wait to see more of the plans God has for them as they unfold.
