Mom of 26 wins Clicks Mother of the Year

In May I was asked to be a judge for the Clicks Mother of the Year competition.

Now one of my worst things is judging other mothers because let’s be real, we’re all just doing our damned best!

So it was with apprehension that I went through the top 10 finalists and picked my top 3.

I thought it would be hard but when I read Emma Makhatini’s story, she was the clear winner. I mean, this lady just deserves all the awards. All of them! Do the Oscars have a mother of the year category? No? Well they should and they should give it to Emma.

Emma is a 70-year-old grandmother who aside from raising her own kids, has also been mother to 26 other vulnerable children in her lifetime. Please let that number sink in – TWENTY SIX. I am barely coping with the one I have and I’m pretty sure my sanity is on it’s way out the door with #2 on the way.

Emma runs  Emthembeni Children Care in Blue Downs. She started it when her husband passed away in 1990 and has since opened her home to children in need. Emthembeni is largely financed by Emma’s pension so winning this year’s Clicks Mother of the Year competition was a great windfall. 

Because aside from just her winnings: a car from Chevrolet South Africa worth R145 000, an accommodation spoil from City Lodge Hotel Limited and some hampers from Netflorist and GNC South Africa, Clicks has also come on board to be involved in a long-term capacity.

So the day before Mother’s Day, we had a celebratory breakfast at the Vineyard Hotel to honour this amazing and selfless woman. It was a really nice morning spent with a few of my favourites, Jules from Heart Mama Blog and Katherine from Becoming You and I got to meet the very lovely Ayanda Dlamini from Good Hope FM.

But even better we got to spend the morning in the presence of this amazing mom. It was a really humbling experience to see that there are selfless people like Emma in this world. I find that it’s the people who have very little, who have the most to give and she really is an inspiration in every sense of the word.