What began as a simple act of kindness on a rainy day more than 30 years ago, has grown into Greensleeves Children’s Trust, a nonprofit organisation (NPO) providing a home, education and support to dozens of vulnerable children in Brakfontein.
Dianne Lehy and her husband, Ian, moved to Greensleeves Farm so their family could enjoy horse riding and country life.
But one rainy afternoon changed the course of their lives.
Lehy recalled seeing a woman, Sylvia Kolisi, walk past the farm gate carrying two small children while trying to shield them from the rain.
“She was trying to push into the bushes to keep the babies dry, so I took her into my house and made tea for her and the children,” Lehy said.
A week later, Kolisi returned and their friendship slowly developed.
Lehy later helped her find work and eventually built her a small house on the property.
“That was the start of Sylvia coming to live here,” she said.
Over time, more vulnerable children from surrounding communities found their way to the farm.
In 2009, after advice from neighbours and intervention from social development officials, the family registered Greensleeves Children’s Trust as an NPO.
Today, the organisation operates 15 foster homes and Fig Tree Independent School, established eight years ago to provide quality education for children in its care.
The school caters for children from six-week-old babies to matric pupils and also teaches practical skills such as gardening, sewing and cooking.
“Our drive is education, as it’s no good if the children just go through the poverty cycle and back,” Lehy said.
“We first stepped in for food and safety, now we want to give them a future.”
Though the organisation currently cares for 42 children, ranging from newborn babies to a 23-year-old, Lehy said more than 800 children had passed through Greensleeves since it began.
Some of those children now return to visit, including one who qualified as a veterinarian after Lehy first found him and his two brothers scavenging through bins in Cambridge.
“What’s wonderful is seeing them come back and seeing what they’ve become,” she said.
Like many NPOs, Greensleeves has struggled financially since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lehy said the organisation survived largely through the support of a small group of loyal donors.
“We’ve got about five regular sponsors.
“We had quite a few more, but Covid took that away,” she said.
“People were donating as little as R20 a month, but if you’re not earning an income, that’s a lot of money.”
The home is supported by about 40 staff members, including teachers, house mothers and cleaners, as well as two permanent volunteers.
Lehy and her husband, a former headmaster of Hudson Park Primary School, also volunteer their time, helping with transport and collecting donated food from across the city.
Marion Peake, who nominated Lehy for the Daily Dispatch Local Heroes, said the organisation’s work reflected quiet compassion that often went unnoticed.
“Their support for vulnerable children and stepping into situations where practical help and emotional support are needed makes a real difference,” Peake said.
“Their work creates stability, dignity and hope.”
One of those children is Lusanda Kolisi, Sylvia’s daughter, who has lived at Greensleeves since birth and now works there as an early childhood development practitioner in the baby unit.
After matriculating in 2022, she completed an Early Childhood Development certificate and helps care for infants and toddlers at the home.
“If I look how other kids grew up, I would say I had a great childhood,” she said.
“There’s literally nothing I can complain about because I’m educated.”
Kolisi said she would always be grateful for the sacrifices Lehy made.
“Having to be a mother to so many children is a big thing, but she did it effortlessly,” she said.
“She was always there for everything — school things, school hours, everything.
“She would even drop us off at school and embarrass us at high school,” Kolisi said with a laugh.
“That’s what makes her special. She’s been a really, really great mom.”
Brazilian-born volunteer Juliana Negri, who has worked at Greensleeves as a counsellor and events organiser for the past four years, said the children and staff had become like family to her.
“I love these children, I love this place, and I love the big kids that are not even children any more,” she said.
“These children become very special to us. We bond with them and really love them.”
Negri described Lehy as “the heart of the place”, saying she had an extraordinary ability to help children recognise and reach their potential.
Daily Dispatch