Continued Art School for Teka

Our daughter Maleteka (Teka), was born in Maseru, the capital city of the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho on 8th January, 2001. This is her story

"I am a Double orphan as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic that swept through Lesotho at that time, My Mom died whilst giving birth to me, from AIDS related complications. About 1 month later my Dad also died from AIDS related illness.

I spent the next 6 and a half months alone in a hospital bed. I was a premature baby and only weighed 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) at birth, and tested HIV positive in the initial exam and was given very little chance to live. However by the grace of God I was seen in the hospital by a young missionary (Tanya Haakonsen) who was serving alongside her Mom and Dad in Lesotho. Her and her Mom would come daily to care for us as hospital staff were overwhelmed.

In July that year Sue and her husband Ray had been given permission to take babies out of the hospital and care for them. This small start the growth of a fully-fledged government approved Non Government Organisation called Beautiful Gate Lesotho. I lived at Beautiful Gate for 2 and a half years after leaving the hospital.

At the age of 3, I was finally released for adoption into the Haakonsen family. I have thankfully been part of this "Forever family" since. I have had to fight as I faced many medical, physical, educational and emotional issues. After numerous attempts at ‘mainstream schools’ it became obvious they were not designed for my particular challenges. So some years back I began home-schooling.

Through the years Ive enjoyed opportunities to take part in dance, singing, swimming and obviously 'hanging' with my friends. In the last 5 years especially I have developed a love and passion for art and have been blessed to learn from an experienced and caring tutor by the name of Janice. With the combination of this passion, great tutoring and natural giftings, I am choosing to follow my heart for Art and pursue it as a career.

However I still need 2 years of individual tutoring from Janice and due to the COVid 19 impact my Dad has been unemployed for 9 months and opportunities are few right now. For me to continue with my much needed tutoring whilst I also launch my website "Tekas Heart" @ https://tekasheart.co.za I need to raise the tuition fees for the next 2 years.

I would appreciate any donation/investment made toward the 2 years of further tuition still needed for me to be more complete as an artist. I love my art but have so much more to learn. Thank you for considering such an investment.
God bless."

TEKA