Hot Cares steps in to protect Joburg South’s forgotten animals

At an age when most people slow down, Hellen White is speeding up.

Every morning at 4am, she is on her feet — cooking food for more than 200 dogs and cats in the impoverished communities of Johannesburg South. Alongside her husband, she collects donations, runs a small charity shop, organises sterilisations and inoculations, and educates pet owners about responsibility.

This is not a hobby. This is survival — for the animals who depend on her.

Hellen registered Hellen – Working in the Community as an NPC in 2013, but her mission began long before that. When families ask for help feeding their pets, she doesn’t just hand over a bag of food.

“If you want assistance, you agree to sterilise,” she insists.

Even if someone can only contribute R10 or R20 toward food, they contribute something. Because dignity matters. Accountability matters. Community matters.

But right now, the wellbeing of hundreds of animals rests on the shoulders of two people in their seventies. If they are exhausted, injured, or forced to stop, the animals don’t pause.

That’s where Hot Cares steps in.

Hot Cares is providing pet food, food and water bowls, and funding towards sterilisations to the value of R30 000 — strengthening a system that prevents suffering before it starts.

This isn’t about a once-off delivery. It’s about protecting long-term change. Every sterilisation reduces future cruelty. Every bowl filled keeps hunger at bay. Every donation helps keep trust alive inside communities where Hellen is welcomed and respected.

Hot Cares is proud to stand behind Hellen — and the hundreds of animals whose lives are safer because of her.

If you would like to donate good-quality second-hand clothing, bric-a-brac, books or household items for her charity shop, contact info@hotcares.co.za.

Because when we support those who never give up, real change takes root.