A child’s comfort, a mom’s relief — how Hot Cares made a difference

Some stories stop you in your tracks — not because they are loud or dramatic, but because of the quiet strength they reveal.

When Hot Cares met Ayanda earlier this year, we met a woman who has learned to keep going, even when life has asked more of her than feels fair. A single mother, a night-shift worker, a caregiver — Ayanda has spent years putting everyone else first while carrying her own grief in silence.

Her nine-year-old son, Lesedi, lives with cerebral palsy. As he has grown, so too has the physical and emotional toll of caring for him. At over 33 kilograms, lifting him, bathing him, and moving him safely around their home had become an exhausting daily challenge — one that often left Ayanda relying on makeshift solutions and sheer determination.

What made this story even heavier was the loss Ayanda suffered last year. After months of caring for her wheelchair-bound husband, she lost him in October. Grief became something she carried alongside responsibility — because stopping was never an option.

It was Ayanda’s friend and colleague, Chantelle, who reached out to Hot Cares. She wrote about a woman who never complains, who arrives at work smiling after sleepless nights, and who continues to show up for her children no matter the cost.

“I don’t think people see how much she carries,” Chantelle shared. “She just keeps going.”