Bonginkosi (Zulu for “Praise the Lord”), a ministry started by Daphne Tshabalala (head-mistress of Nichols Primary School, Edendale, Pietermaritzburg, and later African Enterprise board member) and Barbara Davies (African Enterprise team member), became part of African Enterprise’s ministry and grew rapidly. It started one lunch time when Daphne was eating her sandwich: “Just as I was finishing, I thought suddenly of an errand that had to be done. So, still holding a crust of bread in my hand, I left my office in search of a child to send.”
A little boy was lying in front of her office, under a tree. Next to the child was a dog. “I threw the crust of bread to the dog, but to my greatest horror, the child jumped up, faster than the dog, to rescue that crust and eat it himself.” Daphne never got over the shock of that moment. “Like a flash of lightning, very big words stood before my eyes telling me: There are really hungry children in this school.” She knew these children needed to be fed but she had no financial resources.
Elsewhere in Pietermaritzburg Barbara Davies was seeking God for guidance about what He wanted her to do, and she went to see Daphne. The feeding scheme was launched. By 1990 the small seed planted in 1972 with 30 children had grown into a large tree. 10, 500 children a day in 51 schools throughout South Africa were receiving a cup of protein-enriched soup and a thick slice of bread as a result of the Bonginkosi ministry. The ministry extended to providing health care, blankets and clothes, skills development and wherever possible, the Gospel was shared.