Ma Rose has filled the Trouw Street CHOC House with the home comforts every child craves, especially when battling cancer – She celebrates 16 years of service to those who need her most.
South Africa (18 July 2023) – Ma Rose Mandlazi’s journey started with CHOC Northern Region in 2007 when she joined as a part-time house assistant at the CHOC House. Since then, she has played an integral role in children’s lives for the past 16 years.
The CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA is a non-profit organisation that advocates for the health and well-being of children and teenagers diagnosed with cancer or life-threatening blood disorders. The passionate and dedicated staff and volunteers of CHOC aim to save lives through early detection and comprehensive support programmes for the families affected by cancer, such as; accommodation, transport assistance, psychosocial, emotional and practical support and more. They also provide awareness and education on childhood cancer and life-threatening blood disorders.
The staff that help keep things running at these facilities play such a wonderful role in bringing ease and comfort to families going through the biggest battles.
One of the big parts of this care is good nutrition, and each house has a caregiver who is responsible for cooking wholesome meals. Ma Rose and Auntie Minnie do this for the children that stay at Trouw Street in the CHOC Northern Region.
Looking back on her time with CHOC so far, Ma Rose delights in all she has been able to do to help others.
She vividly remembers entering the CHOC House for the first time 16 years ago, realising that it is a place where children are diagnosed with cancer or life-threatening blood disorders, diseases she didn’t even know existed. Initially, this realisation made her emotional, but something kept “pushing her” to keep returning to the CHOC House. She had a strong feeling that she belonged with CHOC.
Cooking with Auntie Minnie, the house mother, at the CHOC House, made her feel energised. She explains that CHOC is her calling.
“It’s something I enjoy. In the kitchen, my heart warms up because I know I can do something that the children will eat and enjoy.”
Walking the journey with the children and having the power to cook a meal that they would try to eat after receiving chemotherapy, even though it was difficult for them to enjoy a meal, Rose ensured that her meals were prepared with so much love that it made a difference. She observed how her cooking made the “mommy’s journey easier and took away a bit of their stress” while they stayed at the CHOC house.
The kitchen is the place where friendships are formed, and she recalls an 11-year-old boy who was part of the CHOC House family for almost two years. When the boy was admitted to the hospital, Rose received a phone call from him asking for his favourite “CHOC House noodles.” Since the boy didn’t want to eat in the ward, the nursing staff were happy to see Rose arrive with a special meal for “her child.”
The CHOC team are thankful for all that Ma Rose has done for the children in her care.
“Thank you, Rose, for going the extra mile and for keeping more than hope alive for these brave young ones.”
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