Like Molly and Neels, Mama Gladys Panda had never considered running an orphanage, until her sister died of AIDS and Gladys took in her niece. Shortly after, people in her impoverished neighborhood began leaving children at her door in the Transkei. She established DOH in 1999 and by 2003 she had eleven children in her cramped two-bedroom home. Mama Gladys has since expanded into a larger facility in Port Elizabeth and significantly grown the number of children in her care. Her initial vision of providing a safe Christian based home environment for her niece has positively affected hundreds of orphaned children over the past 20 years.

Initially, Panda opened her two-bedroom house to abandoned and orphaned children in without any funds but only a vision from God. She now accommodates 30 children at her Sydenham home, where they are provided with food, clothing, shelter and school fees for schools around the area.

Panda says, “I decided to open up my home for children in April of 1998 after a vision made clear to me why I was having difficulty sleeping when I saw a hungry or shabby child. In the vision I saw a toddler digging in a bin near the market and a voice spoke to me. The voice said: ‘I want you to go out there and take all the children that suffered the same plight you suffered as a child and raise them for me.” A week later, Panda, formed a constitution for her non-profit organization.

Mama Glady’s was the first mama board members of VSA sponsored back in 1999, when she was taking in abandoned orphans in a rural area a few hours outside of Port Elizabeth, in Transkei. In 2015, Village South Africa raised enough funds to pay off the mortgage for the children’s home. Through over 20 years of being in partnership Mama Glady’s has continued to support those in need throughout her community.

Mama Gladys relies on donations to feed, clothe and educate her children. The Door of Hope welcomes any help whether financial or just giving of your time and spreading the word about these children. Village South Africa helps raise funding in the US. You can donate securely here on our website.