In 1989 Rosalie Mashale moved from the Eastern Cape to Khayelitsha. She was extremely disturbed to see young children going through garbage dumps and looking for food without any supervision while their parents were away at work. One day, when an abandoned baby was left on her doorstep, Rosie took him in and tried to find him a new home. Soon, her reputation in the community grew as someone who had too much heart to turn a needy child away. As more and more children were dropped at her doorstep, she took this as a sign from God that forming a Children's Home was to be her work on Earth. Through hard work, determination and the help of the community, Baphumelele has rapidly grown into a Children's Home, a daycare centre for over 230 children, a Respite Centre of adults with HIV/AIDS and TB, a children's Respite Centre, outreach projects helping child headed homes and people needing home-based care, as well as a new residential project called the Fountain of Hope for youth transitioning from children's homes.
