The Mother’s Day celebration at Thembalami Care Centre filled hearts with love, stomachs with good food, souls with well-being, and demonstrated the generosity of the extended Thembalami family.
On May 11, Thembalami mothers and their daughters – with a few men and grandchildren in the mix – filled the main dining hall for a morning of entertainment and fun.
The guest speaker was Marcelle Pincus, an educator, speech and drama teacher, and textbook author who last year added ‘playwright’ to her repertoire when she created a play about her life. Titled What if Nobody Comes? it was performed at several locations around Johannesburg.
Marcelle lives at nearby Elphin Lodge Retirement Village which, like Thembalami, is run by Rand Aid Association.
“She is a remarkable lady who, at 85, is still going strong,” says Thembalami deputy manager Elize Raath.
“Marcelle wrote a beautiful poem about mothers and daughters, which she turned into laminated placemats. All the ladies also received a ‘rainbow nation’ keyring, organised by Marcelle and in keeping with her theme for the morning,” says Elize.
Entertainment was courtesy of self-taught Alexandra opera singer Joey Mabusela (stage name Detenor) and Ian Nel and Berenice Crause, who played background music on the keyboard and guitar and performed three dances, much to the delight of the audience.
“We asked the family members for a financial donation or platters towards the function and received more than R5 000, plus an abundance of platters from family members and friends. There was so much food; it was incredible how generous they were,” says Elize.
“The goodwill did not stop there, either,” she says, explaining that Andrea McCulla, the daughter-in-law of one of the residents, provided each woman with a small gift, consisting of a small bottle of body lotion and an assortment of treats. Linda Luke, the daughter of another resident, gave each resident a scarf and hand-made soap and organised the donation by local companies of panini-, sandwich- and fruit platters. Linda and her sister, Stella van Niekerk, also gave each lady a chocolate with a paper-shaped heart.
“The hall and tables were beautifully decorated and the residents and their family members enjoyed every minute,” says Elize.
She says occupational therapist Tsakani Shihlomule and social worker Lara Hurwitz took plenty of photos, which will be made into a collage as a reminder of the special day.
Delyse Burgess with her daughters and grandson (Donna, Andrea and Luke).
Doreen Calder and daughter Jenny.
Esther Fourie with daughters Wilma and Amanda.
Mary Mathurine and daughter Karen.
Patricia Make with daughters Mphumi and Xoliswa.
Thembalami manager Esme van der Walt.
Guest speaker Marcelle Pincus.
Alexandra opera singer Joey Mabusela (aka Detenor).
Entertainers Ian Nel and Berenice Crause.
