Ntokozweni Village (Ntokozweni, South Africa)

In 1999, Make A Mark joined forces with the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund to build a unique facility known as the Ntokozweni Village in the Kwa Zulu Natal region of South Africa.

Throughout this region, the AIDS epidemic has killed thousands of men and women leaving their children without caregivers and nowhere to turn. Additionally, untold thousands of elderly people have lost the traditional support of their children. The epidemic is so widespread throughout the Kwa Zulu Natal region that outside government agencies are overdrawn for relief, and the villages must create their own self-reliant solutions.

The Ntokozweni Village brings the two abandoned generations together in which the elderly and young work together to create a self-sustaining, interdependent community. The elderly nurture, educate and provide a positive, safe environment for the young. And the young assist with chores, farming, and provide the physical power the elderly lack.

Make A Mark funded the construction of the main residential building with living quarters for the young and elderly. Additional buildings will include a small barn for cows, a chicken house, and a building where the residents will make clothing and handcraft items to produce revenue.

Working together, the children and the elderly of the Village have created a self-sufficient place to live.