{"id":43429,"date":"2026-06-01T16:33:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/?p=43429"},"modified":"2026-06-01T16:33:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T14:33:39","slug":"every-child-deserves-a-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2026\/06\/01\/every-child-deserves-a-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Every child deserves a champion"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><strong>Hope starts at home<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>From abandoned babies to teens finding their purpose, iThemba Lethu has spent 25 years changing young lives in the Cato Manor community. As the official race charity of the Durban SPAR Women\u2019s 10\/ 5km Challenge, every step taken on race day will help support vulnerable children and create brighter futures.<\/p>\n<p>Founded in Manor Gardens, iThemba Lethu serves the greater Cato Manor community through programmes focused on care, education and empowerment. Working with children affected by poverty, crime and gender-based violence, the organisation is committed to turning hardship into hope.<\/p>\n<p>Its Destiny for Youth programme supports learners from Grades 4 to 12 through leadership development, literacy and life skills, helping young people discover their potential and build hope-filled futures.<\/p>\n<p>The organisation also runs a Baby Home, caring for 12 abandoned and vulnerable children from newborn to three years old. With dedicated full-time caregivers and a nurturing environment, the home provides safety, stability and love during the most important early years of a child\u2019s life, while helping prepare them for placement with forever families.<\/p>\n<p>A pioneer in community care, iThemba Lethu also established one of the country\u2019s first community Breastmilk Banks. In partnership with the Department of Health, the organisation collects and supplies donated breastmilk, providing essential nutrition and immune support to babies in need.<\/p>\n<p>This year, R5 from every entry to the Durban SPAR Women\u2019s 10\/5km Challenge will be donated to iThemba Lethu, helping the organisation continue its life-changing work in the community.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>To enter the race, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/sparwomenschallenge.co.za\/durban\/\">sparwomenschallenge.co.za\/durban<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>To find out more about iThemba Lethu, email <a href=\"mailto:info@ithembalethu.org.za\">info@ithembalethu.org.za<\/a>, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ithembalethu.org.za\/\">ithembalethu.org.za<\/a> or call 031 261 7723 between 7.30am and 3.30pm on weekdays.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hope starts at home From abandoned babies to teens finding their purpose, iThemba Lethu has spent 25 years changing young lives in the Cato Manor community. As the official race charity of the Durban SPAR Women\u2019s 10\/ 5km Challenge, every step taken on race day will help support vulnerable children and create brighter futures. Founded [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":43432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4636,10184,18],"tags":[13958,73,222,13959,13957,8008,13960],"class_list":{"0":"post-43429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-events","8":"category-kids","9":"category-whats-on","10":"tag-cato-manor","11":"tag-charity","12":"tag-children","13":"tag-durban-spar-womens-10-5km-challenge","14":"tag-ithemba-lethu","15":"tag-race","16":"tag-vulnerable"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Every child deserves a champion - Get It Ballito &amp; Umhlanga<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2026\/06\/01\/every-child-deserves-a-champion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Every child deserves a champion - Get It Ballito &amp; Umhlanga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hope starts at home From abandoned babies to teens finding their purpose, iThemba Lethu has spent 25 years changing young lives in the Cato Manor community. 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