Anonymous Gift Ends ‘Washing Day Blues’ for Safe House Residents
Good Things Guy | 06.02.2026 20:00
With their old machine finally giving up the ghost, “Laundry Day” had transformed into a daunting, all-day marathon of hand-scrubbing clothes and linens for the residents and staff of Othandweni. Until recently…
Durban, South Africa (06 February 2026) – Being tasked with doing loads upon loads of washing is enough to put a damper on anyone’s spirits. A reality known all too well by the residents and staff of Othandweni, The Domino Foundation’s safe house.
A robust new machine was needed to tackle the daily load from the wash basket, as their old washing machine was in desperate need of retirement. They had resorted to hand-washing, which was becoming increasingly the order of the day…every day. Well, until recently…
They have pushed back their basins and scrubbing brushes and are celebrating that laundry days are no longer the daunting affairs they have always been.
House Manager at Othandweni, Gill Hammond, said a replacement appliance had been on the wish-list for some time and, when the Durban offices of an international corporation offered to play the part of fairy godmother, the delight in the safe house was enormous!
“The people we work with at Othandweni, all of them survivors of sexual exploitation, have come out of very testing backgrounds. Our restoration programmes are very structured and focused and need as much time as possible to be really effective. While making sure the important domestic chores are done each day (and they are part of the restoration process), having a dependable washing machine takes unnecessary pressure off our schedule,” Gill said.
She commented that this was not the first time the corporate, which wished to remain anonymous, had come alongside Othandweni:
“They have seen the effectiveness of the work that is done with survivors of sexual exploitation.”
This silent guardian recognised a struggle and stepped in to lighten the load – literally. Now, the “washing day blues” at Othandweni have officially been rinsed away!
