Three enterprising girls, all learners at Thohoyandou Technical High School, did what even established businesses are not able to do. They recently donated R1 000 to the family of an attempted ritual murder victim, Fortune Khumalo, who survived a ritual murderer’s sharp knife in August 2007.

The three girls, Takalani Ndonyane, Livhuwani Tshifura and Tshilidzi Nengwenani (all 17), trade under the name Ri a Awela Trading and own a cafeteria at Thohoyandou Technical High School that services pupils and members of the school community.

They said they started by selling sweets to their friends during breaks at the school. "The business bug hit us and we developed a passion for business, said Tshilidzi. "We knew from the onset that we would have our own business one day and selling sweets was just a foundation for a bigger business".

She said they had an interest in running the cafeteria as they knew they could put their business skills into practice in a formal setting but were worried that the school wouldn’t give them the opportunity. "When the opportunity availed itself, we embraced it with open arms. We are doing very well and hope that our term will be extended as we have other dreams in the pipeline," said Livhuwani.

The girls said they were very touched when they read about the boy’s plight in this newspaper and did not know how they could contribute towards his wellbeing as they did not have anything at the time. "We also learned of the abject poverty the family found itself in and the pain the boy went through. We wanted to ease their pain. We are caring sisters who support each other and we would like to extend this love to others," said Takalani.

"We had always wanted to help this boy as he did not choose what befell him but," said Takalani. She said they were not making lots of money from their business, but the R1 000 they were donating was the first profit from their business. "We could not think about ourselves first. We are better placed as we still have caring parents who can afford us most of the things we need," she said. The business is presently empowering three people who help with the day-to-day running as they cannot do it themselves because of their demanding academic work.

The girls said their main goal at present was to help those in need and they were not looking at the profit side. "We have ambitious dreams in the pipeline. We would like to help gifted but disadvantaged learners pursue their studies and realize their dreams through bursaries, but this will only materialize if people support us," she said. "The donation we gave today is not the end as we are still going to assess the boy’s circumstances and condition, based on our budget. We still want to help him," they said.

Thomas Khumalo, Fortune’s father, said the family was humbled by the extraordinary gesture from the three girls. "We never expected something like this from girls your age. Most girls your age think of the latest fashions on the market and giving is not in their dictionary," he said. "We cannot imagine how we could cope without the support we are getting from people like you. We have nothing, but the little we are getting from wellwishers is really making a difference to us, "he said. Khumalo wished the girls success so that they could continue helping others.

Fortune Khumalo, a Grade 3 learner at Shigombe Primary School, lost his manhood to a suspected human parts merchant who allegedly sliced them off last August. A suspect, Lucky Simango, appeared at the Malamulele regional court last week. He pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder and he is to be sentenced on the 22 May 2008. He remains in custody.

Meanwhile, Fortune is back at school and is responding well to treatment. He still needs to go to hospital for further treatment and surgery.

Fortune still needs our help as he still has to undergo expensive surgery. The Fortune Khumalo Family fund is still open and those wishing to make contributions can still do so: Acc No 62151417360, FNB, Malamulele.