Not only did he turn a healthy 55 years old, but took a big step towards realising a long-awaited dream.
Walile hosted a birthday lunch for members of the Ithembalethu old age club at the KwaNonqaba community hall.
Club members made no secret of how fond they are of Walile, who goes out of his way to assist the members where and when needed.
Entertainment was provided by the Mossel Bay Correctional Youth Centre. In fact, the youth, especially young offenders, is the main focus of Walile's work, through the newly found Walile Falaka Foundation, which was also launched at the birthday lunch.
The foundation provides care for children and youth from underprivileged backgrounds and aims to restore their dignity.
The goals of the foundation, which is a registered NPO, is to ensure that youth offenders are in possession of a bar coded identity document and that they attend appropriate educational programmes.
The focus is on progress, through striving to gain better skills in order to prepare especially youth offenders for a better life once they have completed their imprisonment.
The project started off in 2006, when Welile bought school uniforms, as he felt he wanted to improve the lives of underprivileged children in rural South Africa. He has also hosted birthday parties and celebrations for vulnerable children.
"I believe that more work and time has to be dedicated to uplift the plight of these children and this foundation was formed in order to facilitate the initiatives," said Welile, who has a background in the social development field, specialising in youth and child care.
During the event, the official website of the foundation, www.welilefalakefoundation.co.za, was also launched.
Welile Falake celebrated the launch of his foundation, focusing on youth development, during his birthday lunch last week. Here he is with his special guests, members of the Ithembalethu old age club. Photos: Cornelle Carstens
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