About Us

 

At Ray of Sunshine Foundation, our story begins with lived experience, resilience, and a deep desire to create change where it is needed most.

Founded by mothers who personally experienced the painful realities of discrimination, exclusion, and the lack of support within the system, our organisation was born out of both struggle and hope. We understand firsthand what it means to fight for dignity, equal opportunities, and access to support for vulnerable families.

Our Marketing Director, Clementine Shange, began advocating for children with special needs over 21 years ago after becoming a mother herself. Faced with the challenges of navigating a system that often failed to support children with disabilities and their families, she turned her pain into purpose. Her journey became the driving force behind a mission to ensure that no parent feels alone, unheard, or unsupported while raising a child with special needs.

Under the leadership of our CEO, Hilda Pheto — winner of the Regional Business Achievers Awards Soweto Social Entrepreneur Award in 2012 and finalist for Boss of the Year in 2013 — the foundation has grown into a compassionate movement dedicated to restoring hope, dignity, and opportunity to vulnerable communities.

Our team is made up of diverse families, caregivers, advocates, and community members who share one vision: to create meaningful support systems for children with special needs and for women rebuilding their lives after incarceration.

We believe that rehabilitation does not end when a woman leaves prison. For many formerly incarcerated women, the real battle begins after release — facing rejection, unemployment, stigma, isolation, and the struggle to reintegrate into society. At Ray of Sunshine Foundation, we believe every woman deserves a second chance, and every child deserves a future filled with love, inclusion, and possibility.

Through advocacy, emotional support, skills development, mentorship, awareness campaigns, and community partnerships, we work to break cycles of poverty, exclusion, and hopelessness. We are committed to building communities where families are empowered, women are restored with dignity, and children with disabilities are embraced, supported, and celebrated.

But we cannot do this alone.

Your support helps us provide practical assistance, educational resources, empowerment programmes, and safe spaces for families and women who are often forgotten by society. Every donation, partnership, and act of kindness helps restore hope and create lasting change in the lives of those we serve.

Together, we can build a more compassionate, inclusive, and empowered South Africa — one family, one child, and one restored life at a time.