Thembi with his beloved Proteas and Louisa (bottom right).

Home » Proteas Make Dream Come True For Brave Thembinkosi

Proteas Make Dream Come True For Brave Thembinkosi

The Proteas may not have won on the field today, but they’re winners in our hearts. This week they helped a special young 12-year-old’s dream come true. Thembinkosi ‘Thembi’ Matshimane, who hails from Ga-Rankuwa near Pretoria, was born in 2005 with a severe and rare muscle disorder called arthrogryposis, which causes rigid joints before birth. […]

By SAPeople
18-02-18 21:35
in Fab South African Stuff
Thembi with his beloved Proteas and Louisa (bottom right).

The Proteas may not have won on the field today, but they’re winners in our hearts. This week they helped a special young 12-year-old’s dream come true.

Thembinkosi ‘Thembi’ Matshimane, who hails from Ga-Rankuwa near Pretoria, was born in 2005 with a severe and rare muscle disorder called arthrogryposis, which causes rigid joints before birth.

His overwhelmed mother abandoned him at the hospital at just 12 days of age, and he has been taken care of by an ‘angel’ – foster mother Louisa Hobson – ever since, at Charlene’s Place of Safety… an orphanage she started for children affected by Aids or disability, and named after Louisa’s daughter who died from Aids.

A couple of years ago, when the Netcare Foundation kindly donated a wheelchair to Thembi (whose full name means ‘Trust in God’) for his 11th birthday; Louisa shared with them Thembi’s passion for cricket and particularly his favourite team, the Proteas.

“He knows everything about the game and would no doubt be a cricket star if he had the use of his limbs. He dreams of one day meeting the national cricket team and becoming a commentator,” she told Netcare in August 2016.

This week the Proteas made that dream come true for Thembi… although it was as much of a special occasion for them, as for one of their biggest fans.

The Proteas’ Hashim Amla posted a couple of photos on Thursday and said in a tweet: “Met Thembinkosi @ the ground today. Absolutely humbled. A big fan and glad to be part of his dream to meet the #Proteas.

“That smile#priceless.”

Thembi with his beloved Proteas and Louisa (bottom right).

Louisa – a pensioner who selflessly uses her own pension for the kids at the orphanage – didn’t hesitate in agreeing to foster this “very special baby” when his mom abandoned him at the hospital in August 2005.

She told Netcare: “He required a great deal of care and no one else in the area was in a position to provide this.

Louisa and Thembi in 2010. She goes out of her way to give the children in her orphanage happiness and love. Source: FB/Louisa Hobson

“Yet it was also quite clear that he was a lovely, bright boy. Today Thembi is a cheerful youngster who doesn’t see himself as disabled and has always been a source of great cheer to all of us at Charlene’s Place of Safety.”

Thembi may have been a little disappointed today for his side, as India beat South Africa with a 28-run victory today at Wanderers Stadium… but the memory of meeting his heroes is sure to cheer him for a very long time! The three-match T20 International Series continues at SuperSport Park on Wednesday and Newlands next Saturday.

https://www.facebook.com/nzhcsouthafrica/posts/1299831810049101

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If you’d like to support Charlene’s Place of Safety or contribute to Thembi’s care, please contact Louisa Hobson on 072 456 5773 or email hobsonlouisa@yahoo.com. 

Sources: Hashim Amla, Netcare, Charlene’s Place of Safety